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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20551

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-28
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 createTrack of AudioFlinger.cpp, there is a possible way to record audio without a privacy indicator due to a logic error in the code. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android-12 Android-12L Android-13Android ID: A-243376549

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 logic error in AudioFlinger's createTrack function allows audio recording to occur without displaying the required privacy indicator. The vulnerability exists in Android 12, 12L, and 13, and requires System-level execution privileges to exploit. This is a local privilege escalation that bypasses user notification of active audio recording.

MitigationApply the Android security patch that addresses this vulnerability in AudioFlinger.cpp. The fix requires correcting the logic that controls when the privacy indicator is displayed relative to audio track creation.

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:= 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
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. Identify Android version
    Check the device or system settings for the installed Android version. On most Android devices, this is found under Settings > About Phone > Android version. Alternatively, use 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell.
    Affected if The installed version is 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 exactly.
  2. Verify AudioFlinger is in use
    Confirm that AudioFlinger is the active audio HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) by checking the audio policy configuration or using 'getprop audio.hal.engine' in ADB shell.
    Affected if AudioFlinger is the active audio engine and the Android version is one of the affected versions.
  3. Monitor privacy indicator behavior
    Start an audio recording application and observe whether the privacy indicator (the green dot in the status bar) appears immediately when recording begins. This can be verified by enabling the developer option 'Strict mode' or by observing the status bar during active recording.
    Affected if Audio recording starts without the privacy indicator being displayed to the user.
  4. Check AudioFlinger createTrack logic
    If source code access is available, examine the createTrack function in AudioFlinger.cpp to verify whether the privacy indicator flag is properly set before audio track creation begins. Look for the logic that controls the privacy indicator state.
    Affected if The code shows the privacy indicator is triggered AFTER track creation rather than before, indicating the logic error exists.

A system is affected if it runs Android 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 AND audio recordings occur without displaying the privacy indicator to the user.

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 that addresses this vulnerability in AudioFlinger.cpp. The fix requires correcting the logic that controls when the privacy indicator is displayed relative to audio track creation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 13 with January 2023 Security Patch Level or later

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version or Settings > Security > Security update
  2. 2. Verify if the device has received the Android Security Bulletin patch from January 2023 or later (this CVE was addressed in the January 2023 Android Security Bulletin)
  3. 3. If the device is on Android 12.0, 12.1, or 13.0 and has not received the patch, check for system updates via Settings > System > Software Update or Settings > About Phone > Software Update
  4. 4. Apply any available system/security updates to install the fix for this vulnerability
  5. 5. If no update is available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version (Android 13 or later) that includes the patched security bulletin
Caveat Minor - standard Android upgrade; may require fresh setup if upgrading major versions; some app compatibility changes possible

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,520
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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-2022-20551 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