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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-36841

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A heap-based overflow vulnerability in PrepareRecogLibrary_Part function in libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so library prior to SMR Sep-2022 Release 1 allows attacker to cause memory access fault.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in the PrepareRecogLibrary_Part function of Samsung's S Pen text recognition library (libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so) allows an attacker to corrupt heap memory and cause a memory access fault, potentially leading to code execution.

MitigationApply Samsung's SMR Sep-2022 Release 1 or later security update to patch the vulnerable library; for organizations managing Samsung devices, deploy the firmware update across affected endpoints.

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:= 10.0= 11.0= 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version is 10.0, 11.0, or 12.0 (any build within these major versions)
  2. Verify S Pen text recognition library exists
    Check for the presence of libSDKRecognitionText.spensdk.samsung.so in the system filesystem (common paths: /system/lib64/ or /vendor/lib64/)
    Affected if The library file exists on the device - this indicates S Pen text recognition functionality is present
  3. Confirm S Pen feature is enabled
    Verify S Pen gestures or text recognition features are active in Settings > S Pen > Air actions or S Pen features
    Affected if S Pen text recognition or Air Command features are enabled and usable on the device
  4. Check Samsung security patch level
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software information > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.vendor.build.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than September 2022 (SMR Sep-2022 Release 1)
  5. Identify library file version if available
    Use 'ls -la' on the library file path to check file timestamps, or use 'strings' command to search for version strings within the .so file if accessible
    Affected if Cannot determine library version - assume vulnerable if other conditions match

A device is likely affected if it runs Android 10, 11, or 12, has the Samsung S Pen text recognition library present, and has a security patch level earlier than the September 2022 Samsung security update.

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 Samsung's SMR Sep-2022 Release 1 or later security update to patch the vulnerable library; for organizations managing Samsung devices, deploy the firmware update across affected endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SMR Sep-2022 Release 1 (September 2022 Security Patch Level)

  1. Check your current Samsung device model and Android version
  2. Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Software Update on your Samsung device
  3. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery (above 50%)
  4. Tap 'Download and install' to check for available updates
  5. Select 'Update' to install the SMR Sep-2022 Release 1 security patch containing the fix for CVE-2022-36841
  6. Wait for the update to complete and restart the device automatically or manually when prompted
  7. Verify the patch was applied by checking Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security patch level (should show September 2022 or later)
Caveat Standard risks apply with any OS update - ensure backup of important data before updating; some custom configurations may need reapplication after update

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 / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2022-36841 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