AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20297

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-12
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 Settings, there is a possible way to bypass factory reset protections due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-201561699

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 logic error in the Android Settings application allows bypassing factory reset protection mechanisms. This enables a local attacker to escalate privileges without user interaction by circumventing the protections designed to prevent unauthorized device resets, potentially allowing device takeover or data theft on Android-13 devices.

MitigationApply the Android-13 security update that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Device manufacturers should ensure the A-201561699 patch is integrated into their builds.

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:= 13.0

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
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
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if Version is exactly 13.0 (Android 13)
  2. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than the date when A-201561699 was released (patch not applied)
  3. Verify Settings app version
    Go to Settings > Apps > Settings app > Version info, or check package version via ADB: 'dumpsys package com.android.settings | grep version'
    Affected if Running Settings app version bundled with unpatched Android 13.0 build

Device is affected if running Android 13.0 and the A-201561699 security patch has not been applied

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-13 security update that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Device manufacturers should ensure the A-201561699 patch is integrated into their builds.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Later Android 13.x security update or Android 14+ with the February 2023 or later Android Security Bulletin

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings > System > Software Update on the affected Android device
  2. 2. Check for and install any available system updates
  3. 3. Alternatively, verify the Android security patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version and ensure it reflects a date after the CVE was patched
  4. 4. If no update is available through OTA, contact the device manufacturer or carrier for patch availability
Caveat Users should backup data before applying major OS updates; some settings or apps may require reconfiguration

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
  • 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-2022-20297 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