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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20456

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-26
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 AutomaticZenRule of AutomaticZenRule.java, there is a possible failure to persist permissions settings due to resource exhaustion. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-242703780

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 local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Android's AutomaticZenRule component where resource exhaustion causes failure to persist permission settings. This could allow a local attacker to bypass permission controls and escalate privileges without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the February 2023 Android security patch (or later) to affected devices. For enterprise environments, implement mobile device management (MDM) policies to enforce system updates and restrict device usage until patches are applied.

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= 12.0= 12.1= 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 OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release`
    Affected if The version listed is 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 exactly (not a later patched version)
  2. Check installed security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run `adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch`
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than February 2023 (for example, January 2023 or earlier)
  3. Verify AutomaticZenRule component presence
    Check if the device supports Zen rules: go to Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb > Automation rules, or run `adb shell dumpsys notification` to look for AutomaticZenRule entries
    Affected if The device has Zen/Do Not Disturb automation rules configured and is running a vulnerable Android version before the February 2023 patch

The device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 and has a security patch level earlier than February 2023.

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 February 2023 Android security patch (or later) to affected devices. For enterprise environments, implement mobile device management (MDM) policies to enforce system updates and restrict device usage until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 (any build) or security patch level November 2022+ for Android 10/11/12/12L

  1. 1. Check current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Backup important data to a secure location before upgrading
  3. 3. If running Android 12L (12.1) or earlier, upgrade to Android 13 which contains the security patch for this vulnerability
  4. 4. Go to Settings > System > Software Update to check for and install available updates
  5. 5. Verify the security patch level is November 2022 or later after update (Settings > About Phone > Security patch level)
Caveat Android 13 may have app compatibility issues for legacy applications; review app compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
26.0 hours of engineering $4,480
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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-2022-20456 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