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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20440

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
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 Messaging, There has unauthorized broadcast, this could cause Local Deny of Service.Product: AndroidVersions: Android SoCAndroid ID: A-242259918

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

This is a local denial of service vulnerability in Android's Messaging component caused by an unauthorized broadcast. A local attacker can send an unauthorized broadcast to disrupt the Messaging service, causing it to become unavailable. The issue affects Android System-on-Chip (SoC) implementations.

MitigationApply vendor-specific Android system updates and security patches that address this vulnerability in the Messaging component's broadcast handling. Users should ensure their devices receive regular security updates from their device/SOC manufacturer.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Android OS is in use
    Check the device operating system by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Information, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The device is running Google Android (all versions are affected)
  2. Identify the Messaging component
    Check if the default Android Messaging app (Messages app) is installed. Look for 'com.android.messaging' or 'com.google.android.apps.messaging' in installed packages via 'adb shell pm list packages | grep messaging'
    Affected if The Messaging app is present on the device
  3. Verify broadcast receiver exposure
    Inspect the Messaging app's manifest for broadcast receivers using 'aapt dump badging /path/to/messaging.apk | grep receiver' or review AndroidManifest.xml for intent-filter declarations
    Affected if The app declares intent filters that accept external broadcasts without proper permission checks

If the device runs any version of Android and has the Messaging component installed, the environment is affected by this unauthorized broadcast DoS vulnerability.

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 vendor-specific Android system updates and security patches that address this vulnerability in the Messaging component's broadcast handling. Users should ensure their devices receive regular security updates from their device/SOC manufacturer.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2022-20440 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