dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20127

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 ce_t4t_data_cback of ce_t4t.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a double free. This could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12LAndroid ID: A-221862119

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

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in the Android NFC stack (ce_t4t.cc - Card Emulation Type 4 Tag). A double free in the ce_t4t_data_cback function causes an out-of-bounds write, leading to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely without any user interaction and requires no elevated privileges.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for the appropriate version (Android-10 through Android-12L). For systems where patches are unavailable, consider disabling NFC as a compensating control until the update can be deployed.

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:= 10.0= 11.0= 12.0= 12.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check the Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADB shell
    Affected if The version equals 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 12.1
  2. Verify NFC is enabled
    Go to Settings > Connected devices > NFC, or check `nfc get-state` via ADB shell if available
    Affected if NFC is turned ON - the vulnerability exists in the NFC stack and cannot be triggered when NFC is disabled
  3. Check if NFC Card Emulation is active
    Inspect NFC settings for any registered secure elements or card emulation services, or monitor NFC activity logs for ce_t4t (Card Emulation Type 4 Tag) usage
    Affected if Card Emulation Type 4 Tag functionality is in use or has been recently invoked, as the flaw exists in ce_t4t.cc specifically
  4. Confirm the NFC HAL service version
    Check the vendor or system partition for the NFC HAL (hardware abstraction layer) service; on affected builds, the libnfc hal library would contain the vulnerable ce_t4t code path
    Affected if Running a build with the unpatched NFC stack that includes the vulnerable ce_t4t_data_cback function in the Card Emulation Type 4 Tag module

You are affected if your device runs Android 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 12.1 AND has NFC enabled AND the Card Emulation Type 4 Tag feature is accessible or has been used, as the double-free vulnerability in ce_t4t.cc requires the NFC Card Emulation stack to be active.

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 security patch for the appropriate version (Android-10 through Android-12L). For systems where patches are unavailable, consider disabling NFC as a compensating control until the update can be deployed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android-12L (13.0) with July 2022 security patch level or later; for affected Android 10-12.1 devices, apply the July 2022 security update (2022-07-01)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Android version > Security patch level
  2. Verify the device is not running at least the July 2022 security patch level (or later)
  3. If the device security patch level is before July 2022, check for system updates by going to Settings > System > System Update
  4. Download and install any available system/security updates
  5. After updating, confirm the security patch level shows July 2022 or later
  6. For enterprise or managed devices, ensure the mobile device management (MDM) policy pushes the latest security patch update
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, users should backup important data before applying major system updates as a precaution

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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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-2022-20127 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