CVE-2022-20588
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 · uneditedIn sysmmu_map of sysmmu.c, there is a possible EoP due to a precondition check failure. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-238785915References: 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 · moderate confidenceA precondition check failure in sysmmu_map function of the System MMU driver in Android kernel allows local privilege escalation. An attacker with System-level execution privileges can exploit improper validation in a memory mapping operation to gain elevated privileges.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android security patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to retrieve the security patch dateAffected if The security patch level is earlier than 2023-01-01 (the patch for this CVE)
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Verify kernel versionRun 'cat /proc/version' or 'uname -a' to check the kernel versionAffected if The kernel version predates the fix (January 2023 Android kernel updates)
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Check System MMU driver presenceRun 'ls /sys/class/misc/sysmmu*' or check kernel config with 'cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep -i sysmmu'Affected if The System MMU driver module is loaded and the kernel is unpatched
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Confirm device is vulnerable via exploit contextCheck if the device allows untrusted apps to have System-level execution by reviewing SELinux policies with 'getenforce' and app permissionsAffected if The device permits apps or processes with System-level execution privileges to interact with the System MMU driver
A device is affected if it lacks the January 2023 Android security patch or runs an unpatched kernel version with the System MMU driver loaded and accessible to System-level processes.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply Android security patches from device manufacturers; this kernel-level vulnerability in the System MMU driver requires a vendor-specific kernel update to remediate.
Apply the Android security update containing the fix for CVE-2022-20588 (Android ID A-238785915)
- Apply the Android security update that includes the fix for Android ID A-238785915
- The patch addresses a precondition check failure in sysmmu_map in sysmmu.c
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version includes the security patch for this vulnerability
- For devices using custom kernels, backport the specific fix for the sysmmu.c precondition check from the Android security bulletin
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20588 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20588 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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