Kardiamobile FirmwareOperating system · Alivecor

CVE-2022-41627

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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
The physical IoT device of the AliveCor's KardiaMobile, a smartphone-based personal electrocardiogram (EKG) has no encryption for its data-over-sound protocols. Exploiting this vulnerability could allow an attacker to read patient EKG results or create a denial-of-service condition by emitting sounds at similar frequencies as the device, disrupting the smartphone microphone’s ability to accurately read the data. To carry out this attack, the attacker must be close (less than 5 feet) to pick up and emit sound waves.

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

The KardiaMobile IoT device transmits EKG data to a smartphone using unencrypted sound waves. An attacker within 5 feet can intercept patient EKG results by receiving the same sound transmissions, or cause denial-of-service by emitting interfering frequencies that disrupt the device-to-smartphone communication.

MitigationVendor must implement encryption for the sound-based data transmission protocol and deploy firmware updates to devices; users should update firmware when available and use devices in private settings to minimize proximity exposure.

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
Kardiamobile FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Kardiamobile 6l FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Kardiamobile Card FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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. Inventory KardiaMobile devices
    Search your device inventory, procurement records, or conduct a physical walkthrough of clinical areas to identify Alivecor KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6l, or KardiaMobile Card handheld EKG devices
    Affected if Any of these three device models are present in the environment
  2. Verify device is operational
    Confirm the device powers on and has been used to capture EKG readings; check usage logs or interview staff who operate the devices
    Affected if The device has been used to transmit EKG data to a smartphone application
  3. Confirm sound-based transmission method
    Observe or document that the device transmits EKG data to a smartphone via audible or ultrasonic sound waves rather than Bluetooth, WiFi, or wired connection
    Affected if The device uses sound wave audio transmission to send EKG data to the paired smartphone app
  4. Assess physical proximity exposure
    Evaluate whether devices are used in areas where unauthorized persons could approach within 5 feet during EKG transmissions, such as open wards, waiting areas, or shared examination rooms
    Affected if EKG transmissions occur in spaces where eavesdropping or frequency interference is physically plausible

If KardiaMobile, KardiaMobile 6l, or KardiaMobile Card devices are present and used to capture EKG data transmitted via sound waves, the environment is affected since all firmware versions lack encryption for the audio-based transmission channel.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Vendor must implement encryption for the sound-based data transmission protocol and deploy firmware updates to devices; users should update firmware when available and use devices in private settings to minimize proximity exposure.

Fix this in Kardiamobile Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation40.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
84.0 hours of engineering $14,560
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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-2022-41627 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
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