CVE-2022-26461
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 · uneditedIn vow, there is a possible undefined behavior due to an API misuse. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07032604; Issue ID: ALPS07032604.
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 confidenceCVE-2022-26461 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in MediaTek's VOW (Voice Wake-up) driver. The issue stems from undefined behavior caused by API misuse within the VOW subsystem. An attacker with System execution privileges can exploit this to escalate privileges further, without requiring user interaction.
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= 11.0= 12.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the SoC chipset vendorCheck /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'cat /sys/class/socinfo/soc_name' to determine if the device uses a MediaTek processorAffected if The device does not use a MediaTek chipset - this vulnerability only affects MediaTek-based Android devices
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Verify Android OS versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The version is not 11.0 or 12.0 exactly - this CVE affects only Android 11.0 and 12.0 specifically (exact versions)
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Locate the VOW driver moduleSearch for vow-related kernel modules: 'find /system /vendor /kernel -name *vow*' or check 'lsmod | grep -i vow' if kernel module info is accessibleAffected if No VOW driver module exists on the device - the vulnerability requires the MediaTek VOW driver to be present
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Check VOW driver file permissions and ownershipInspect the VOW driver file permissions if found: 'ls -la /vendor/lib/modules/vow*' or similar path; check for world-writable permissionsAffected if The VOW driver file has overly permissive access (world-writable or writable by unprivileged users) - this could indicate the vulnerable configuration
A user is affected if they are running Android 11.0 or 12.0 on a MediaTek-based device that includes the VOW driver module, as this is a MediaTek-specific driver vulnerability requiring System execution privileges to exploit.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the MediaTek firmware patch ALPS07032604 through vendor-provided OTA updates or firmware updates for affected devices. This is a vendor-side fix requiring updated MediaTek firmware.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-26461 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-26461 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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