AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20590

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
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 valid_va_sec_mfc_check of drm_access_control.c, there is a possible information disclosure due to improper input validation. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-238932493References: 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

This is a kernel-level information disclosure vulnerability in Android's DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) access control subsystem. The function valid_va_sec_mfc_check in drm_access_control.c fails to properly validate input, allowing a local attacker to potentially access sensitive information without requiring elevated privileges or user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided Android kernel security patch for A-238932493 which implements proper input validation in the affected DRM access control function.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm the device is running Android
    Check the OS via 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The device runs any Android version (all versions are affected)
  2. Identify the kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to retrieve the kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel is present and the DRM subsystem is loaded (required for the vulnerability to be exploitable)
  3. Verify if the security patch A-238932493 has been applied
    Check the Android security patch level via 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the patch date for A-238932493, or the patch is not listed at all (device remains vulnerable)
  4. Check if the DRM kernel module is loaded
    Run 'lsmod' or check /proc/modules for drm-related modules such as 'drm', 'drm_kms_helper', or vendor-specific DRM modules
    Affected if The DRM subsystem is active (the vulnerable code resides in drm_access_control.c within the DRM kernel module)

If the device runs Android with a kernel containing the affected DRM access control code and has not received the vendor security patch for A-238932493, the device is vulnerable to CVE-2022-20590.

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 Android kernel security patch for A-238932493 which implements proper input validation in the affected DRM access control function.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20590 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20590 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