AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20143

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
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 addAutomaticZenRule of ZenModeHelper.java, there is a possible permanent denial of service due to resource exhaustion. This could lead to local denial of service with User execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12LAndroid ID: A-220735360

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

A resource exhaustion vulnerability in Android's ZenModeHelper.java allows local attackers to create unlimited automatic zen rules via the addAutomaticZenRule function, causing permanent denial of service by exhausting system resources.

MitigationImplement proper input validation and resource limits in addAutomaticZenRule to cap the number of allowable automatic zen rules and prevent resource exhaustion.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or go to Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version shown is 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 12.1 (exact match required)
  2. Enumerate automatic zen rules
    Run 'adb shell dumpsys zenmode' or query the zen policy content provider to list all automatic zen rules configured on the device
    Affected if The output shows an unusually high number of automatic zen rules (the vulnerability allows unlimited creation, so any number higher than a reasonable limit could indicate exploitation)
  3. Check for rapid rule creation events
    Review system logs using 'adb logcat -d | grep -i automaticzenrule' or check for repeated addAutomaticZenRule calls in logcat output
    Affected if Logs show rapid or repeated creation of automatic zen rules in short succession
  4. Inspect ZenModeHelper configuration
    Use 'adb shell dumpsys activity service SystemUIService' and search for ZenModeHelper configuration or check /data/data/com.android.systemui/shared_prefs/ for zen-related preferences
    Affected if Configuration shows no visible limit or cap on the number of automatic zen rules that can be created

A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, or 12.1 and contains an excessive or unlimited number of automatic zen rules that were created without proper limits.

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

Implement proper input validation and resource limits in addAutomaticZenRule to cap the number of allowable automatic zen rules and prevent resource exhaustion.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android-10, Android-11, Android-12, and Android-12L devices with July 2022 Security Patch Level (or later)

  1. Check current Android security patch level on the device: Settings > About Phone > Android version or Build Number > Security patch level
  2. If the security patch level is earlier than July 2022, check for system updates via Settings > System > Software Update or Settings > About Phone > Software Update
  3. Apply the latest available Android system update containing the July 2022 security patch or later
  4. After updating, verify the security patch level shows July 2022 or later to confirm the vulnerability is remediated

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-20143 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
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