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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20203

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 multiple locations of the nanopb library, there is a possible way to corrupt memory when decoding untrusted protobuf files. This could lead to local escalation of privilege,with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in multiple decoding locations of the nanopb library when parsing untrusted protobuf files, allowing local privilege escalation without requiring user interaction or additional execution privileges.

MitigationUpdate nanopb library to version containing security fixes; implement input validation on protobuf data before decoding to mitigate untrusted input risks.

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. Confirm Android version is 12.1
    Check the device or system Android version: Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The system runs Android version 12.1 (API level 31 for pixel, or 12L for other vendors)
  2. Identify nanopb library presence
    Search for nanopb library files in the system: check application binaries and shared libraries for 'nanopb' or 'nanopb.c' references, or examine app dependency manifests for nanopb inclusion
    Affected if The application or system includes the nanopb library for protobuf parsing
  3. Determine nanopb library version
    If nanopb is present, inspect the library binary or associated version headers: look for version strings in libnanopb.so or check compiled-in version defines in the application
    Affected if The nanopb version is unknown, unpatched, or earlier than the fixed security version
  4. Verify protobuf input from untrusted sources
    Examine application code or configuration for protobuf parsing paths that process data from external or untrusted sources (network, files, IPC from other apps)
    Affected if The application parses protobuf messages from untrusted input without additional validation layers

A system is affected if it runs Android 12.1 and includes the nanopb library to parse untrusted protobuf data, and the nanopb version lacks the security fix for CVE-2022-20203.

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

Update nanopb library to version containing security fixes; implement input validation on protobuf data before decoding to mitigate untrusted input risks.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 12.1 with March 2022 security patch level or later (Android 12L/13 recommended for full support)

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings > System > Security update on the Android device
  2. 2. Check the current Android security patch level
  3. 3. If the device has not received the March 2022 security update or later, check for available system updates
  4. 4. Download and install the latest Android security update that includes the fix for CVE-2022-20203
  5. 5. After updating, verify the security patch level reflects the update that addresses the nanopb vulnerability
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, ensure backups are made before updating and verify app compatibility with newer Android versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2022-20203 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