dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-21779

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
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 WLAN driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06704526; Issue ID: ALPS06704393.

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 WLAN driver contains a missing bounds check that allows an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation from System execution privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation when writing data to memory buffers in the wireless network driver code.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS06704526 to address the missing bounds check in the WLAN driver. If patch deployment is delayed, consider network isolation to reduce exposure from local attackers who already have System-level access.

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:= 11.0= 12.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the Android OS version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in a shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version is exactly 11.0 or 12.0 - other versions are not affected by this specific CVE
  2. Verify the WLAN driver is loaded
    Check /proc/modules or run 'lsmod | grep -i wlan' to see if a wireless LAN driver module is active
    Affected if A WLAN driver module is present and loaded into memory
  3. Confirm WiFi functionality is enabled
    Check the WiFi state via 'settings get global wifi_on' or check that WiFi is turned on in Settings
    Affected if WiFi is enabled - the vulnerable code path requires the WLAN driver to be actively processing network data
  4. Inspect WLAN driver files in the system
    Look for wireless driver files in /system/lib/modules/ or /vendor/lib/modules/ using 'find /system -name *wlan* -o -name *bcmdhd* -o -name *wlan'
    Affected if WLAN driver files exist in the system - the vulnerability resides in the vendor-specific WLAN driver code
  5. Identify the specific WLAN driver module name
    Run 'cat /proc/modules' and examine the module names related to wireless (common names include wlan, bcmdhd, bnx2x, qca, ath)
    Affected if The system uses a WLAN driver module - the missing bounds check exists in the driver's data writing routines

The device is affected if it runs Android version 11.0 or 12.0 AND has an active WLAN driver, since the vulnerability requires both the vulnerable Android version and the presence of the flawed WLAN driver code to be exploitable.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch ALPS06704526 to address the missing bounds check in the WLAN driver. If patch deployment is delayed, consider network isolation to reduce exposure from local attackers who already have System-level access.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Bulletin patches (January 2022 or later); Contact device manufacturer for MediaTek driver update ALPS06704526

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level)
  2. Verify the device runs on a MediaTek chipset by checking the processor information in Settings > About Phone
  3. Apply the latest Android system update available for the device, which will include the MediaTek WLAN driver patch
  4. If available from the device manufacturer, apply the specific MediaTek driver update containing Patch ID ALPS06704526
  5. After applying updates, verify the security patch level reflects the latest available update
Caveat Carrier-branded devices may receive updates on different timelines; Some older devices may not receive further updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,472.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21779 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-21779 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