AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20333

MEDIUM · 6.5 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 →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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 Bluetooth, there is a possible crash due to a missing null check. This could lead to remote denial of service with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-13Android ID: A-179161657

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 null check in the Android Bluetooth stack allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service (crash) without requiring any user interaction or additional execution privileges. The vulnerability exists in Android-13 and could be triggered by sending malformed Bluetooth data to the target device.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for September 2022 (or later) which contains the fix for this vulnerability (Android ID A-179161657). For custom Android builds, locate the code path in the Bluetooth framework where the null check is missing and add appropriate validation before dereferencing the pointer.

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 shell
    Affected if The device is running Android 13.0 (exactly version 13.0, not 13.0.1 or later)
  2. Verify Bluetooth is enabled
    Check Settings > Bluetooth or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on' via ADB shell - a value of 1 means enabled
    Affected if Bluetooth is enabled (value is 1) - the attack vector requires receiving malformed Bluetooth data
  3. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than September 2022 (dates before 2022-09-05) - the fix was released in the September 2022 security update

A device is affected if it runs Android 13.0, has Bluetooth enabled, and has a security patch level earlier than September 2022.

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 security patch for September 2022 (or later) which contains the fix for this vulnerability (Android ID A-179161657). For custom Android builds, locate the code path in the Bluetooth framework where the null check is missing and add appropriate validation before dereferencing the pointer.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 with September 2022 security patch level or later

  1. Check current Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. Verify if your device has received the September 2022 security update or later
  3. If the update is available, download and install it via Settings > System > Software Update
  4. After updating, confirm the Security Patch Level shows September 2022 or later
  5. If no update is available from your device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version if supported
Caveat Manufacturer-specific updates may vary in timing; some older devices may not receive this security patch

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2022-20333 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