AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-22291

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-11
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
Logging of excessive data vulnerability in telephony prior to SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 allows privileged attackers to get Cell Location Information through log of user device.

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 information disclosure vulnerability in the Android telephony subsystem. The telephony module is logging excessive data, specifically Cell Location Information (which reveals the user's geographic location based on cell tower data), to persistent logs. Privileged attackers with access to the device logs can read this sensitive location data, enabling physical tracking of the device owner.

MitigationUpdate the device to Samsung's SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 or later, which contains the patch removing Cell Location Information from telephony logs. Alternatively, if updates are unavailable, review and sanitize telephony logging code to ensure no location-revealing data is written to logs.

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:= 10.0= 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
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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version is 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 (exact matches)
  2. Examine telephony logs for cell location data
    Run 'logcat -d | grep -i cell' or 'logcat -d | grep -i location' via ADB shell to view saved logcat output
    Affected if Logs contain entries with Cell ID, LAC, or geographic coordinates from the telephony module
  3. Review logcat radio buffer
    Run 'logcat -d -b radio' via ADB shell to examine the radio buffer where telephony messages are stored
    Affected if Radio buffer entries show Cell Location Information being logged with coordinates or cell tower identifiers
  4. Check for persistent log files
    Examine /data/log/ or /data/misc/logd/ directories via ADB shell for saved log files containing telephony data
    Affected if Persistent log files exist and contain telephony location data entries

A device is affected if it runs Android 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 AND its logs (logcat, radio buffer, or persistent log files) contain Cell Location Information that reveals geographic position.

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

Update the device to Samsung's SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 or later, which contains the patch removing Cell Location Information from telephony logs. Alternatively, if updates are unavailable, review and sanitize telephony logging code to ensure no location-revealing data is written to logs.

Recommended fix High confidence

SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 or later

  1. Check current SMR (Samsung Mobile Security) version on the device via Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security software version
  2. Upgrade the device to SMR (Security Maintenance Release) Feb-2022 Release 1 or later through Settings > Software Update > Download and Install
  3. Verify the device is running SMR Feb-2022 Release 1 or newer after update completes

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-22291 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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