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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-26433

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-01
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 mailbox, there is a possible out of bounds write due to type confusion. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07138400; Issue ID: ALPS07138400.

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

A type confusion vulnerability in the Linux kernel mailbox subsystem allows an out-of-bounds write, potentially enabling local privilege escalation. The attacker requires System-level execution privileges already, but no user interaction is needed for exploitation.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS07138400) to the kernel/mailbox driver. Since this is a kernel-level fix, ensure thorough regression testing of mailbox functionality after patching.

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
YoctoOperating system
Affected:= 3.1= 3.3

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. Identify the running kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check '/proc/version' to get the kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel version matches Android 11.0 or 12.0, or Yocto 3.1 or 3.3 kernel builds that contain the vulnerable mailbox driver code
  2. Confirm the product distribution
    Check if the system is running Google Android (check 'getprop ro.build.version.release') or Yocto (check '/etc/os-release' or 'cat /etc/yocto-release' if present)
    Affected if The system runs Android 11.0/12.0 or Yocto 3.1/3.3 as the primary OS
  3. Verify the mailbox subsystem is in use
    Check for loaded mailbox-related kernel modules via 'lsmod | grep -i mailbox' or examine /proc/devices for mailbox device entries, or check dmesg for mailbox-related driver initialization messages
    Affected if The system has a mailbox driver/framework actively loaded or initialized; the vulnerability requires this subsystem to be present and accessible
  4. Identify the specific mailbox driver in use
    Examine kernel config via '/boot/config-$(uname -r)' or '/proc/config.gz' (if available) for CONFIG_MAILBOX options, or check '/sys/module/mailbox*' paths to see which mailbox implementation is compiled in
    Affected if A mailbox driver (such as ARM Mailbox, Platform Mailbox, or sunxi_mailbox) is compiled as a loadable module or built-in; the type confusion flaw exists within this driver code
  5. Check for available kernel updates
    Query the system's package manager (apt, yum, dnf for Android; opkg for Yocto) for available kernel package updates: 'adb shell pm list packages | grep kernel' (Android) or 'opkg list-upgradable | grep kernel' (Yocto)
    Affected if A newer kernel package is available that would contain the vendor patch ALPS07138400, indicating the installed version is likely unpatched

The system is affected if it runs Android 11.0 or 12.0, or Yocto 3.1 or 3.3, and the kernel mailbox subsystem is active; in that case the installed kernel version matches the affected versions and the vulnerability is 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 vendor patch (ALPS07138400) to the kernel/mailbox driver. Since this is a kernel-level fix, ensure thorough regression testing of mailbox functionality after patching.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 13.0+ with January 2022 or later security patch level; Yocto 4.0+ (Dunfell or later with backported patch)

  1. Contact your Android device OEM (e.g., Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo) to request the security patch containing ALPS07138400 for your specific device model running Android 11.0 or 12.0
  2. For Yocto systems, update the meta-mediatek layer or receive firmware updates from your board/vendor that include the MediaTek patch ALPS07138400
  3. Verify the installed patch level includes the fix for CVE-2022-26433 after applying the update
  4. If vendor updates are unavailable, consider migrating to a newer Android version (13.0+) or Yocto release (4.0+) that includes the fix
Caveat OEM/vendor-specific updates may have limited availability depending on device/end-product support lifecycle

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
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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-2022-26433 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