CVE-2022-20154
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 · uneditedIn lock_sock_nested of sock.c, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-174846563References: Upstream kernel
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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in the lock_sock_nested function in Linux kernel's sock.c caused by a race condition. The race allows a local attacker with System execution privileges to potentially achieve privilege escalation by exploiting the use-after-free in socket locking operations.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm the target system is Google AndroidCheck /proc/version or run 'getprop ro.build.fingerprint' or 'uname -a' to see if the OS is Android-basedAffected if The system is running any version of Google Android (all versions are affected)
-
Verify the Linux kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to obtain the kernel version stringAffected if The kernel version indicates Google Android (all Android kernel versions contain the vulnerable code)
-
Identify if the lock_sock_nested function exists in the kernelCheck for the presence of the function in the kernel source or binary: grep 'lock_sock_nested' in kernel symbols (/proc/kallsyms) if available, or examine the sock.c source file in the kernel treeAffected if The lock_sock_nested function is present in the kernel (required for the vulnerability to exist)
-
Check for kernel patch statusReview installed security updates or kernel patches: check /system/etc/security/hw_authenticator.conf for patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'Affected if No upstream patch for CVE-2022-20154 has been applied to the kernel
If the system is Google Android and the lock_sock_nested function exists without the CVE-2022-20154 patch applied, the environment is affected by this use-after-free vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the upstream kernel patch for this race condition; ensure proper synchronization primitives are used around sock lock operations to prevent the race window.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20154 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20154 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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