CVE-2022-33721
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 · uneditedA vulnerability using PendingIntent in DeX for PC prior to SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 allows attackers to access files with system privilege.
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 confidenceThis is a PendingIntent handling vulnerability in Samsung DeX for PC that allows local attackers to access files with elevated system privileges. The issue stems from improper validation or authorization when processing pending intents, potentially enabling unauthorized file system access.
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= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if The version is exactly 12.0 (Android 12)
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Verify Samsung DeX for PC is installedCheck for the DeX for PC app package via 'adb shell pm list packages | grep dex' or look for Samsung DeX in the app drawerAffected if The package 'com.sec.android.app.desktoplauncher' or Samsung DeX for PC is present on the device
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Confirm DeX for PC mode is enabledOpen Samsung DeX settings or check if DeX for PC mode is active via the notification panel quick settingsAffected if DeX for PC mode has been activated at least once, enabling the vulnerable code path
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Check DeX for PC application versionGo to Settings > Apps > Samsung DeX for PC > App info, or run 'adb shell dumpsys package com.sec.android.app.desktoplauncher | grep versionName'Affected if The application version is earlier than the SMR August-2022 Release 1 patch
A user is affected if their device runs Android 12.0, has Samsung DeX for PC installed, and the DeX for PC feature has been enabled, with the application version predating the August-2022 patch.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate the Samsung DeX for PC application to the SMR August-2022 Release 1 or later to obtain the vendor patch.
SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 (or later) for Android 12.0 Samsung devices
- Check current Samsung device model and Android version in Settings > About Phone
- Navigate to Settings > Software Update and check for the August 2022 Security Maintenance Release (SMR)
- Download and install SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 or later if available
- Verify the update was successfully applied by checking the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-33721 — 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-2022-33721 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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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.
- 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