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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20194

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 onCreate of ChooseLockGeneric.java, there is a possible permission bypass. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12LAndroid ID: A-222684510

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 permission bypass vulnerability in Android's ChooseLockGeneric activity's onCreate method allows local privilege escalation without user interaction or additional execution privileges. The flaw enables an attacker to bypass lock screen permission checks in Android-12L.

MitigationApply the Android-12L security patch that addresses A-222684510. Organizations should ensure devices receive the relevant monthly security update.

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:= 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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 Android version is 12.1
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'
    Affected if Version displays exactly 12.1 (Android 12L)
  2. Verify Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the Android-12L security update containing the fix for A-222684510
  3. Confirm ChooseLockGeneric activity is present
    Check the Settings application APK or decompile Settings.apk and look for ChooseLockGeneric in the AndroidManifest.xml under the 'android:exported' components
    Affected if The ChooseLockGeneric activity is exported and accessible without proper permission checks
  4. Verify lock screen permission configuration
    Review the ChooseLockGeneric activity's android:permission attribute in AndroidManifest.xml - it should require USE_BIOMETRIC or USE_FINGERPRINT permissions
    Affected if The activity lacks proper permission enforcement in its manifest declaration

You are affected if your device runs Android 12.1 (12L) and has not received the security patch that fixes A-222684510, allowing the ChooseLockGeneric activity to be accessed without proper lock screen permission checks.

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-12L security patch that addresses A-222684510. Organizations should ensure devices receive the relevant monthly security update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12L with July 2022 security patch level (or Android 13 with July 2022 security patch level if upgrading)

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings > System > Security & privacy on the Android device
  2. 2. Go to Security update or System update
  3. 3. Check the Android security patch level - ensure it is July 2022 or later (2022-07-01 or later)
  4. 4. If an update is available, download and install it
  5. 5. After installation, verify the patch level in Settings > About phone > Android version shows the July 2022 security patch or later
Caveat Minimal risk - monthly security updates are backward compatible; may require device restart

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 / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
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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-2022-20194 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