AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20117

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In (TBD) of (TBD), there is a possible way to decrypt local data encrypted by the GSC due to improperly used crypto. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-217475903References: N/A

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Improper cryptographic implementation in Android kernel allows decryption of locally stored data encrypted by the Global Security Controller (GSC), leading to local information disclosure without requiring additional privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply Android kernel security updates addressing the improper crypto implementation; ensure GSC encryption uses proper cryptographic primitives and key management.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android version and kernel version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' and 'uname -a' to retrieve the Android OS version and kernel version
    Affected if Device is running any version of Android (all versions are affected per vendor advisory)
  2. Determine if device has Global Security Controller (GSC) hardware
    Check device hardware specifications or run 'getprop' commands related to GSC (e.g., 'getprop ro.hardware.gsc' or check /dev/t-base_tui if present)
    Affected if Device implements GSC hardware for encrypted data storage - the vulnerability allows decryption of GSC-encrypted data
  3. Identify if GSC encryption is in use for local data storage
    Examine whether applications or system features store data using GSC-backed encryption (check for use of GSC keystore or secure storage)
    Affected if GSC encryption is actively used to encrypt locally stored data - the improper crypto implementation enables decryption of this data
  4. Verify kernel crypto implementation for GSC
    Review kernel crypto modules or consult vendor documentation on GSC crypto implementation; check if kernel handles GSC encryption/decryption operations
    Affected if Kernel handles GSC cryptographic operations - the flaw is in the kernel-level crypto implementation for GSC data

If the device uses GSC hardware and GSC-encrypted local storage, the improper cryptographic implementation in the Android kernel allows unauthorized decryption of that data regardless of Android version.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Android kernel security updates addressing the improper crypto implementation; ensure GSC encryption uses proper cryptographic primitives and key management.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20117 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20117 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data