dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20118

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
72/100
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 ion_ioctl and related functions of ion.c, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-205707793References: 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 · high confidence

A race condition in the ION (I/O Memory) subsystem of the Android kernel in ion_ioctl and related functions leads to a use-after-free vulnerability. An attacker with local access can exploit this race to achieve privilege escalation by accessing memory that has been freed but not yet invalidated.

MitigationApply the Android kernel security patch for CVE-2022-20118 which adds proper synchronization to prevent the race condition in the ION subsystem. Devices running affected Android kernel versions should be updated to the latest security patch level.

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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. Confirm device is running Android
    Check /proc/version or use 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to verify the operating system is Android
    Affected if The device runs Android - all versions are affected according to the CVE summary
  2. Verify ION subsystem is present
    Check for ION kernel module by running 'ls /dev/ion' or looking for 'ion' in /proc/modules, or check kernel config for CONFIG_ION=y or CONFIG_ION=m
    Affected if ION device exists at /dev/ion or the ION module is loaded, meaning the vulnerable subsystem is active
  3. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to obtain the kernel version string
    Affected if Kernel version is older than the patched version for this CVE - compare against Google's Android Security Bulletin for the specific patch date
  4. Check Android security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to obtain the security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the fix date for CVE-2022-20118 in the Android Security Bulletin

A user is affected if they are running an Android device with ION subsystem enabled and their kernel/security patch level predates the CVE-2022-20118 fix.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android kernel security patch for CVE-2022-20118 which adds proper synchronization to prevent the race condition in the ION subsystem. Devices running affected Android kernel versions should be updated to the latest security patch level.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest Android Security Patch Level (the fix was included in the July 2022 Android Security Bulletin)

  1. 1. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device: Settings > About Phone > Build Number (tap 7 times), then Settings > System > Security > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Verify the device manufacturer has released an update addressing Android ID A-205707793
  3. 3. Apply the latest Android Security Update that includes the fix for CVE-2022-20118
  4. 4. The fix is incorporated in the Android kernel; ensure the device receives the kernel-level security patch
  5. 5. For enterprise or custom ROM users, ensure the kernel includes the ion.c race condition fix (use-after-free in ion_ioctl)
Caveat Standard Android security update; may require device reboot; some custom ROMs may need manual kernel rebuilding

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-20118 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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