AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-22271

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-10
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
A missing input validation before memory copy in TIMA trustlet prior to SMR Jan-2022 Release 1 allows attackers to copy data from arbitrary memory.

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 an arbitrary memory read vulnerability in Samsung's TIMA (TrustZone-based Integrity Measurement Architecture) trustlet caused by missing input validation before a memory copy operation. Attackers can exploit this to read data from arbitrary memory locations, potentially exposing sensitive information from the trusted execution environment.

MitigationApply the Samsung SMR (Security Maintenance Release) January 2022 Release 1 or later, which contains the fix for the missing input validation in the TIMA trustlet.

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:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0

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
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 a Samsung model with TIMA support
    Identify the device manufacturer and model. TIMA (TrustZone-based Integrity Measurement Architecture) is a Samsung-specific security feature implemented in the TrustZone trusted execution environment. Only Samsung devices that implement TIMA are potentially affected.
    Affected if The device is not a Samsung product or does not implement TIMA trustlet
  2. Check the Android OS version
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The Android version is 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 (exact matches as listed in affected versions)
  3. Verify TIMA trustlet is present and enabled
    Check for the presence of TIMA-related system properties or trustlet files. On affected Samsung devices, TIMA is typically implemented as a trustlet loaded into TrustZone. Examine system properties with 'getprop | grep tima' or check for /vendor/etc/tima or similar TIMA configuration paths if they exist on the device.
    Affected if TIMAs trustlet is loaded and active on the device

A user is affected if they are running Android 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 on a Samsung device that implements and enables the TIMA trustlet, as the arbitrary memory read requires the vulnerable TIMA component to be present.

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 Samsung SMR (Security Maintenance Release) January 2022 Release 1 or later, which contains the fix for the missing input validation in the TIMA trustlet.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Jan-2022 Release 1 or later

  1. Verify your Samsung device model is eligible for the SMR Jan-2022 security update by checking Samsung's security bulletin at security.samsungmobile.com
  2. Navigate to Settings > Software update > Download and install on your device to apply the January 2022 Samsung Security Maintenance Release (SMR)
  3. Confirm the patch was applied by checking Settings > About phone > Software information and verifying the Security patch level shows January 2022 or later
Caveat Security patches typically have minimal compatibility risk; however, verify your device model is supported before updating

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-22271 — 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-2022-22271 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