AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-20605

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 SAECOMM_CopyBufferBytes of SAECOMM_Utility.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. This could lead to remote information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-231722405References: 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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the Android kernel's SAECOMM (Secure Element Communication) module. The SAECOMM_CopyBufferBytes function in SAECOMM_Utility.c contains an incorrect bounds check, allowing reading beyond the allocated buffer boundary. This enables remote information disclosure without requiring any user interaction or additional privileges.

MitigationApply the Android kernel security patch for CVE-2022-20605 once released by the device manufacturer or through the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) kernel updates. Users should ensure their devices receive regular security updates.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Android Security Patch Level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level and verify the date. For CVE-2022-20605, the fix was released in the January 2022 Android Security Bulletin.
    Affected if The Security Patch Level is earlier than January 2022, or the field shows an unpatched version.
  2. Verify SAECOMM module presence
    On a rooted device or via adb, check if the SAECOMM kernel module is loaded or present: ls -la /sys/module/ | grep saecomm or check /proc/modules for saecomm entries.
    Affected if The SAECOMM module is loaded on the device.
  3. Confirm kernel source includes the fix
    If you have access to the kernel source or kernel config, verify that SAECOMM_Utility.c contains the corrected bounds check in the SAECOMM_CopyBufferBytes function.
    Affected if The source code still shows the original vulnerable bounds check logic, or the patch is not present.
  4. Check vendor-specific kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to identify the kernel version, then compare against the kernel version that includes the AOSP fix for this CVE.
    Affected if The running kernel version predates the January 2022 Android kernel security update.

A device is affected if its Android Security Patch Level predates the January 2022 update AND the SAECOMM module is present and active on the device.

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 CVE-2022-20605 once released by the device manufacturer or through the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) kernel updates. Users should ensure their devices receive regular security updates.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-20605 — 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-2022-20605 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