CVE-2022-20178
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 ioctl_dpm_qos_update and ioctl_event_control_set of (TBD), there is a possible out of bounds write due to an integer overflow. 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-224932775References: 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 confidenceInteger overflow in Android kernel ioctl handlers (ioctl_dpm_qos_update and ioctl_event_control_set) allows an attacker with System execution privileges to trigger an out-of-bounds write, potentially achieving local privilege escalation.
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
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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.
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Confirm Android environmentRun 'getprop ro.build.version.sdk' or 'uname -a' to verify the system is running AndroidAffected if System is not Android (CVE only affects Android)
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Check kernel version against patchesRun 'uname -r' or check '/proc/version' to obtain the kernel version, then compare against the Android Security Bulletin for the month the fix was releasedAffected if Kernel version predates the security patch for this CVE (specific versions vary by device model and Android version)
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Verify ioctl handlers are presentCheck kernel or system image for the presence of 'ioctl_dpm_qos_update' and 'ioctl_event_control_set' functions (may require kernel symbols or source inspection)Affected if These specific ioctl handlers exist in the kernel without the integer overflow fix
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Assess execution privilegesDetermine if the user or application has System-level privileges on the device (run 'id' or check process UID)Affected if Attacker requires System execution privileges to exploit this vulnerability per the CVE description
User is affected if running Android with a kernel that predates the security patch and contains the vulnerable ioctl handlers, and the attacker can obtain System-level execution privileges.
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 Android kernel security patch that adds proper integer overflow validation and bounds checking in the affected ioctl functions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20178 — 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-2022-20178 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
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- 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
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