CVE-2022-33731
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 · uneditedImproper access control vulnerability in DesktopSystemUI prior to SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 allows attackers to enable and disable arbitrary components.
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 confidenceImproper access control in Samsung's DesktopSystemUI allows unprivileged attackers to enable and disable arbitrary system components. This high-severity (CVSS 7.1) vulnerability stems from missing or insufficient authorization checks within the DesktopSystemUI service, potentially allowing manipulation of system UI elements or other components.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Check Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if Version is 11.0 or 12.0 exactly (not 11.0+ or 12.0+) - the affected versions are specifically equal to 11.0 and equal to 12.0 per the CVE scope
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Verify DesktopSystemUI presenceRun 'dumpsys package com.samsung.android.desksystemui' via ADB shell to check if the DesktopSystemUI package is installed on the deviceAffected if The package com.samsung.android.desksystemui exists and is installed on the device
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Check Samsung security patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell to retrieve the installed SMR (Samsung Maintenance Release) patch dateAffected if The security patch level is earlier than SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 (patch date before August 2022)
A device is affected if it runs Android 11.0 or 12.0, has Samsung's DesktopSystemUI installed, and has a Samsung security patch level earlier than the August 2022 release.
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 · scopedApply the SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 patch to DesktopSystemUI, which implements proper access control enforcement for component enable/disable operations.
Samsung SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 (August 2022 Security Patch Level)
- Check if your Samsung device running Android 11.0 or 12.0 has the August 2022 security update available
- On your Samsung device, go to Settings > Software update
- Tap 'Download and install' to check for the SMR Aug-2022 Release 1 security patch
- Download and install the August 2022 security update or later
- After installation, verify the patch is applied by going to Settings > About phone > Software information > Security patch level
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-33731 — 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-2022-33731 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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