AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20585

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-16
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 valid_out_of_special_sec_dram_addr of drm_access_control.c, there is a possible EoP due to improper input validation. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-238716781References: N/A

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 the Android kernel's DRM access control mechanism. The function valid_out_of_special_sec_dram_addr in drm_access_control.c fails to properly validate input, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges without user interaction. This is a kernel-level flaw affecting Android kernel components.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided kernel security patch for Android that addresses the input validation issue in drm_access_control.c. This typically involves updating the affected kernel version with the CVE fix from the Android Security Bulletin.

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
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 Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level (or Settings > System > Security > Security Patch Level on newer Android versions). Record the date shown.
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than February 2022, as the fix was released in the Android Security Bulletin for that month.
  2. Identify the kernel version
    On the device, use a terminal app or ADB to run 'uname -a' or check Settings > About Phone > Kernel Version. Record the full version string.
    Affected if The kernel version predates the February 2022 Android Security update and the patch for this CVE has not been applied.
  3. Verify the drm_access_control.c patch status
    If you have access to the kernel source or a rooted device, locate the file drivers/gpu/drm/drm_access_control.c and check the function valid_out_of_special_sec_dram_addr for proper bounds checking on the input parameters.
    Affected if The function lacks proper validation checks for the input address parameters, allowing out-of-bounds memory access.
  4. Confirm DRM kernel module is loaded
    On a rooted device or through ADB, run 'lsmod' or check /proc/modules for drm-related modules. Also check /sys/module/drm/ for module presence.
    Affected if The vulnerable DRM access control code is active and the device is running an unpatched kernel version.

A device is affected if it runs an Android kernel version with a Security Patch Level before February 2022, or if the drm_access_control.c source code lacks proper input validation in the valid_out_of_special_sec_dram_addr function.

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 the vendor-provided kernel security patch for Android that addresses the input validation issue in drm_access_control.c. This typically involves updating the affected kernel version with the CVE fix from the Android Security Bulletin.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-20585 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