AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20598

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 sec_media_protect of media.c, there is a possible EoP due to an integer overflow. This could lead to local escalation of privilege of secure mode MFC Core with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-242357514References: 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 confidence

An integer overflow vulnerability in the sec_media_protect function of media.c within the Android kernel allows local privilege escalation to secure mode MFC Core without user interaction. The overflow enables bypassing security boundaries in the media protection subsystem.

MitigationApply the Android kernel security patch for A-242357514. If no patch available, implement proper integer overflow checks in sec_media_protect before arithmetic operations that affect memory allocation or array indexing.

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. Identify the Android kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to retrieve the kernel version string
    Affected if The device runs an Android kernel without the A-242357514 patch applied to the media.c file
  2. Locate the sec_media_protect function in the kernel
    Search the kernel source or binary for the sec_media_protect function in media.c (e.g., 'grep -r sec_media_protect' in kernel source or check /proc/kallsyms if available)
    Affected if The sec_media_protect function exists in the kernel's media driver and the integer overflow check is not implemented
  3. Verify MFC (Multi-Format Codec) hardware support is present
    Check kernel configuration for MFC support (CONFIG_MFC or similar) or query hardware info via /proc/cpuinfo or device-specific nodes in /dev or /sys
    Affected if The device has MFC hardware and the media protection subsystem is accessible to the vulnerable code path
  4. Confirm the media protection subsystem is active
    Inspect /sys or /dev entries related to media/graphics (e.g., /dev/video* nodes or sec_media_* device nodes) or check SELinux policy for media domain access
    Affected if The media protection subsystem is enabled and the sec_media_protect function can be invoked

The device is affected if it runs an Android kernel containing the sec_media_protect function in media.c with MFC hardware support and the media protection subsystem active, without the A-242357514 integer overflow patch applied.

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 Android kernel security patch for A-242357514. If no patch available, implement proper integer overflow checks in sec_media_protect before arithmetic operations that affect memory allocation or array indexing.

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-2022-20598 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