AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20212

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 wifi.RequestToggleWifiActivity of AndroidManifest.xml, there is a possible EoP due to a tapjacking/overlay attack. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11Android ID: A-182282630

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 tapjacking/overlay vulnerability in Android's wifi.RequestToggleWifiActivity allows a malicious app to overlay the legitimate WiFi toggle UI, tricking users into enabling or disabling WiFi when they intend to interact with a different element. This leads to local elevation of privilege with no additional execution privileges required, though user interaction is needed for exploitation.

MitigationAvoid installing apps from untrusted sources, revoke 'Display over other apps' permission from untrusted applications, and keep Android devices updated to receive Google's patch for this framework-level vulnerability.

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:= 10.0= 11.0

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify if the installed version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0
    Affected if Android version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 and an app with overlay permission is installed
  2. Identify apps with Display over other apps permission
    Go to Settings > Apps > Special access > Display over other apps to list all applications granted the SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW permission
    Affected if Any untrusted or unknown application has this permission enabled
  3. Review recently installed apps
    Check Settings > Apps > See all apps and review applications installed from unknown sources, particularly any that request overlay permissions
    Affected if An app from an untrusted source is installed and has overlay capabilities
  4. Check for suspicious overlay behavior
    Observe if unexpected windows appear over system UI elements like WiFi toggles, or if touches register on different elements than intended
    Affected if Overlay behavior is observed when attempting to interact with WiFi toggle or other system controls

User is affected if running Android 10.0 or 11.0 and has an untrusted application with Display over other apps permission installed on the device

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

Avoid installing apps from untrusted sources, revoke 'Display over other apps' permission from untrusted applications, and keep Android devices updated to receive Google's patch for this framework-level vulnerability.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2022-20212 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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