dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-26473

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-07
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 vdec fmt, there is a possible use after free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07342197; Issue ID: ALPS07342197.

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 use-after-free vulnerability in the vdec fmt (video decoder format) component of MediaTek ALPS allows local privilege escalation due to improper locking. The memory safety flaw can be exploited to escalate from System privileges, likely to root, without user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS07342197 to address the use-after-free vulnerability in the video decoder component; this is a MediaTek-specific issue requiring the official firmware update.

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:= 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 is 12.0
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.sdk' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version returned is 12.0 (API level 31)
  2. Verify MediaTek chipset is in use
    Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or check /proc/cpuinfo for MediaTek or MTK identifiers
    Affected if The hardware/chipset is identified as MediaTek-based (not Qualcomm, Samsung Exynos, etc.)
  3. Confirm vdec fmt component is present
    Check for the video decoder format module by running 'ls /vendor/lib/modules/vdec*' or inspect kernel module loading via 'cat /proc/modules | grep vdec'
    Affected if The vdec fmt or video decoder format module is loaded or exists on the device
  4. Check current privilege context
    Run 'whoami' or 'id' to determine current user context
    Affected if The process or session is running with System-level privileges (not root, but elevated from standard user)
  5. Identify vulnerable vdec driver version
    Run 'getprop ro.vendor.mediatek.version.release' or inspect /sys/class/video_codec/ for driver version info if available
    Affected if The MediaTek video codec driver version does not include the ALPS07342197 patch or is an unpatched build

A device is affected if it runs Android 12.0 on a MediaTek chipset with the vdec fmt component present and without the vendor-specific patch ALPS07342197 applied.

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 ALPS07342197 to address the use-after-free vulnerability in the video decoder component; this is a MediaTek-specific issue requiring the official firmware update.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android 12.0 with MediaTek security patch ALPS07342197 applied, or Android 13.0+

  1. Check device manufacturer for Android security update containing MediaTek patch ALPS07342197
  2. Apply the latest Android security patch update for Android 12.0 from your device OEM that includes the MediaTek video decoder (vdec) fix
  3. If the specific patch is unavailable, upgrade to Android 13.0 or later which should include this security fix
  4. Verify the update has been applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-26473 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data