dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20493

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 →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 Condition of Condition.java, there is a possible way to grant notification access due to improper input validation. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-242846316

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

A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Android's Condition.java where improper input validation allows bypassing authorization checks for notification access permissions. An attacker with local device access can exploit this to grant notification listener permissions without proper user consent, escalating their privileges.

MitigationApply Android security patches (November 2022 or later). For enterprises, use EMM/MDM solutions to restrict notification listener app installations and monitor for unauthorized permission grants.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Verify Android version
    Check the device settings under Settings > About Phone > Android version to confirm the installed OS version
    Affected if The device runs Android 10, 11, 12, 12.1, or 13.0 (exact versions match the affected list)
  2. Check notification listener access settings
    Navigate to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Notification listener (or Settings > Sound & notification > Notification access on some devices) and review which apps have notification access permission
    Affected if Any application has been granted notification listener access without explicit user consent or outside of normal permission flow
  3. Audit installed apps for notification listener service
    Review the list of installed applications and check for any unknown or suspicious apps that may have notification listening capabilities enabled
    Affected if An app with notification listener permission exists that was not intentionally installed or authorized by the user
  4. Review recent permission grant events
    Check system logs or use security audit tools to examine recent permission changes, specifically looking for notification access permission grants
    Affected if Notification listener permission was granted recently through an unexpected or unauthorized mechanism

A device is affected if it runs Android 10, 11, 12, 12.1, or 13.0 and has any unauthorized or unexpected notification listener permissions granted.

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 Android security patches (November 2022 or later). For enterprises, use EMM/MDM solutions to restrict notification listener app installations and monitor for unauthorized permission grants.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 or later (or December 2022 / January 2023 Android Security Patch Level)

  1. 1. Check the current Android version on the affected device by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Verify if a monthly security update is available by going to Settings > Security > Security update (or Settings > System > Security > Security update)
  3. 3. If available, install the latest Android security patch level. For this CVE, patches were released starting December 2022
  4. 4. Alternatively, upgrade the device to Android 13 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability
  5. 5. After upgrading, verify the patch level by going to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level to confirm the fix is applied
  6. 6. Ensure Google Play services are updated to the latest version for complete protection
Caveat Upgrading to Android 13 may introduce UI changes or remove compatibility with older apps; verify 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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,920
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,072.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20493 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-20493 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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