AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20183

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
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 hypx_create_blob_dmabuf of faceauth_hypx.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. 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-188911154References: 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 missing bounds check in the hypx_create_blob_dmabuf function of faceauth_hypx.c in the Android kernel allows an out-of-bounds write. This occurs when processing blob data in the face authentication subsystem, where insufficient validation of input size before memory operations permits writing beyond allocated buffers. An attacker with System execution privileges can exploit this for local privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the Android security patch that includes the fix for A-188911154, which adds proper bounds validation in the hypx_create_blob_dmabuf function. The fix requires modifying the kernel driver to validate buffer sizes before performing the write operation.

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm the system is Android
    Check for Android by examining /system/build.prop or running 'uname -a' to see if the kernel identifies as Android
    Affected if The system is not Android-based, as this vulnerability only affects Android kernels
  2. Determine the Android security patch level
    Read the ro.build.version.security_patch property from /system/build.prop (e.g., 'cat /system/build.prop | grep security_patch') or check via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than the fix for A-188911154, as all versions prior to the patched release are affected
  3. Check if the face authentication driver is present
    Search for the faceauth kernel module or driver file in /lib/modules/ or via 'lsmod | grep face' and check for /dev/video* devices related to face auth
    Affected if The face authentication subsystem (faceauth_hypx) is loaded or available on the device, as the vulnerability lies in its hypx_create_blob_dmabuf function processing blob data
  4. Identify the kernel source file existence
    Check if the vulnerable source file faceauth_hypx.c exists in the kernel or if the compiled module is present on the system
    Affected if The faceauth_hypx driver binary/module is present in the system's kernel or modules directory

A user is affected if the system runs Android with a security patch level predating the fix for A-188911154 and has the face authentication subsystem (faceauth_hypx) present and enabled.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Android security patch that includes the fix for A-188911154, which adds proper bounds validation in the hypx_create_blob_dmabuf function. The fix requires modifying the kernel driver to validate buffer sizes before performing the write operation.

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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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-2022-20183 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
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