AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20469

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 avct_lcb_msg_asmbl of avct_lcb_act.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege over Bluetooth 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-230867224

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 bounds check in the AVCT (Audio/Video Control Transport) message assembly function (avct_lcb_msg_asmbl) in avct_lcb_act.cc allows an out-of-bounds write when processing incoming Bluetooth data. This memory corruption vulnerability can be exploited locally via Bluetooth to achieve privilege escalation without requiring user interaction or additional execution privileges.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level that addresses CVE-2022-20469. The fix requires adding proper bounds validation in the message assembly code to prevent buffer overflows when processing Bluetooth AVCT messages.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version listed is 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 exactly
  2. Check Android 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 security patch level is earlier than the fix date for CVE-2022-20469 (patch levels after October 2022 typically contain the fix)
  3. Confirm Bluetooth is enabled
    Check if Bluetooth is turned on in Settings or run 'settings get global bluetooth_on' via ADB
    Affected if Bluetooth is enabled - the vulnerability triggers when processing incoming AVCT Bluetooth messages

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 the CVE fix (typically October 2022 or earlier).

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 level that addresses CVE-2022-20469. The fix requires adding proper bounds validation in the message assembly code to prevent buffer overflows when processing Bluetooth AVCT messages.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 or November 2022 security patch level

  1. Check your device's current Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. If running Android 10, 11, or 12/12L, upgrade to Android 13 or later which contains the fix for this Bluetooth vulnerability (CVE-2022-20469)
  3. Alternatively, apply the November 2022 Android Security Patch Level (SPL) or later which addresses this vulnerability
  4. After upgrade, verify the Android version reflects the update in Settings > About Phone
  5. Confirm Bluetooth functionality works normally after the update
Caveat Android 13 upgrade may introduce UI changes, removed deprecated APIs, or behavior changes; test compatibility before mass deployment

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
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
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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-2022-20469 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