AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20367

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 construct_transaction of lwis_ioctl.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an integer overflow. This could lead to local escalation of privilege in the kernel with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-225877459References: N/A

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 vulnerability in the Android kernel's lwis_ioctl.c file within the construct_transaction function allows an integer overflow to cause an out-of-bounds write. An attacker with System execution privileges can exploit this to escalate to kernel-level privileges, achieving local privilege escalation without user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch that addresses CVE-2022-20367. This typically involves updating the Android kernel to a version with proper integer overflow protection in the construct_transaction function of lwis_ioctl.c.

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:all versions

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Determine if the lwis driver is present in the kernel
    Check for the presence of the lwis_ioctl driver or the lwis subsystem in the kernel configuration or loaded modules. On Android, you can examine /proc/kallsyms or check kernel config for CONFIG_LWIS or search for lwis_ioctl.c in the kernel source.
    Affected if The lwis driver is present and loaded on the device, making the attack surface available.
  2. Check the kernel version and security patch level
    Retrieve the kernel version using 'uname -r' on the device or check Android Settings > About Phone > Kernel Version. Also check the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level.
    Affected if The kernel version is prior to the patch that addresses CVE-2022-20367, or the security patch level is older than the month the fix was released.
  3. Verify the construct_transaction function in lwis_ioctl.c
    Examine the kernel source code or binary for the construct_transaction function within lwis_ioctl.c. Check for proper integer overflow protection (such as bounds checking on the transaction parameters before performing arithmetic that could overflow).
    Affected if The function lacks proper integer overflow validation on the transaction parameters, allowing out-of-bounds memory access.
  4. Confirm System-level execution privileges exist
    Identify if any process or application on the device holds System-level (UID 1000) execution privileges, as this is required for the attacker to exploit the vulnerability.
    Affected if Processes with System UID privileges are present on the device, enabling the privilege escalation path.

A user is affected if their Android device has the lwis driver loaded and is running a kernel version or security patch level that predates the CVE-2022-20367 fix.

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

Apply the Android security patch that addresses CVE-2022-20367. This typically involves updating the Android kernel to a version with proper integer overflow protection in the construct_transaction function of lwis_ioctl.c.

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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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20367 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2022-20367 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