AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-32609

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
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 vcu, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07203410; Issue ID: ALPS07203410.

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 race condition in the vcu (video capture unit) component leads to a use-after-free vulnerability. An attacker with local access and System execution privileges can exploit this race condition to achieve local privilege escalation without user interaction.

MitigationApply patch ALPS07203410 from the vendor. This appears to be a firmware/hardware-level fix in the video capture unit component, likely requiring firmware update or driver patch from the silicon/vendor.

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= 13.0

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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via adb shell
    Affected if Version is 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0
  2. Verify vcu kernel module presence
    Check if vcu module is loaded by running 'lsmod | grep vcu' or check /sys/module/ for vcu directory via adb shell with root access
    Affected if vcu module is loaded in the kernel
  3. Confirm System-level execution context
    Verify the device has apps or processes running with System UID (UID 1000) - this can be observed via 'ps -A | grep system_server' or checking process UID details via adb
    Affected if Processes with System privileges are present on the device (this is standard on Android but required for exploitability)

The device is affected if running Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0 and the vcu video capture unit component is present and loaded in the kernel, as the race condition exists in that specific component.

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 patch ALPS07203410 from the vendor. This appears to be a firmware/hardware-level fix in the video capture unit component, likely requiring firmware update or driver patch from the silicon/vendor.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level incorporating ALPS07203410 fix (typically included in monthly Android security updates)

  1. Check the device's current Android Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security Patch Level
  2. Verify if the installed Security Patch Level includes the fix for ALPS07203410 (MediaTek advisory)
  3. If not updated, check for and install any available system updates from the device manufacturer
  4. For devices no longer receiving official updates, consider upgrading to a newer device model that receives active security support
  5. Alternatively, contact the device manufacturer (OEM) for specific patch availability and timeline
Caveat Security updates generally have minimal breaking changes; however, verify backup of data before applying major updates

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-32609 — 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-2022-32609 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