dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-21786

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 audio DSP, there is a possible memory corruption due to improper casting. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS06558822; Issue ID: ALPS06558822.

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 a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the audio DSP (Digital Signal Processor) subsystem. The issue stems from improper type casting that leads to memory corruption, allowing a local attacker with System-level privileges to escalate to higher privileges. No user interaction is required for exploitation.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS06558822) which corrects the improper casting in the audio DSP code to prevent memory corruption. This is a firmware/driver-level fix that should be deployed through the device manufacturer's security update mechanism.

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. Confirm Android version
    Check the device settings under 'Settings > About Phone > Android version' or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version is 11.0 or 12.0 exactly (the only affected versions listed)
  2. Verify audio DSP subsystem presence
    Check for audio DSP audio HAL service by examining /vendor/etc/audio* files or running 'getprop | grep audio' in ADB shell
    Affected if Device has an audio DSP subsystem (this is the vulnerable component)
  3. Check system-level access availability
    The vulnerability requires initial System-level privileges; verify current user context with 'whoami' or 'id' command via ADB shell
    Affected if Attacker already has System-level access (this is the prerequisite for privilege escalation)
  4. Review audio DSP driver loading
    Examine kernel modules or firmware loaded for DSP by checking 'ls /vendor/firmware/' or '/d/asoc' debugfs entries via ADB shell
    Affected if Audio DSP firmware/driver is loaded and accessible at system level

The device is affected if it runs Android 11.0 or 12.0 and has an active audio DSP subsystem that can be accessed with System-level privileges.

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 the vendor patch (ALPS06558822) which corrects the improper casting in the audio DSP code to prevent memory corruption. This is a firmware/driver-level fix that should be deployed through the device manufacturer's security update mechanism.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (e.g., March 2022 or later security updates from device manufacturer)

  1. Contact the device manufacturer (e.g., Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, etc.) to verify if a security update containing patch ALPS06558822 has been released
  2. Ensure the device is updated to the latest Android security patch level available from the manufacturer
  3. For Android 11.0 and 12.0 devices, verify the security bulletin includes the MediaTek audio DSP fix for CVE-2022-21786
  4. If no update is available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a device model that receives regular security updates
Caveat None expected; security patches are backward compatible

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,400
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,840.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21786 — 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-2022-21786 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