dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-42503

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
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 ProtocolMiscBuilder::BuildSetLinkCapaReportCriteria of protocolmiscbuilder.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-241231983References: N/A

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

Out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Android kernel's ProtocolMiscBuilder::BuildSetLinkCapaReportCriteria function in protocolmiscbuilder.cpp. Missing bounds check allows writing beyond allocated buffer boundaries, leading to local privilege escalation from System execution privileges.

MitigationApply Android security patch for the applicable Android version. This is a kernel-level fix requiring a kernel update; no user interaction needed once patch is deployed.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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. Identify Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version is unpatched - since all versions are affected until the security patch is applied
  2. Identify kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' via ADB shell
    Affected if Kernel version predates the CVE-2022-42503 security patch date (November 2022)
  3. Verify security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell to check the installed security patch date
    Affected if Security patch level is earlier than November 2022 or not set
  4. Confirm vulnerability context
    The flaw requires the ProtocolMiscBuilder::BuildSetLinkCapaReportCriteria function in protocolmiscbuilder.cpp to be reachable. This is a kernel component; check if the device has a custom kernel or stock Android kernel by examining '/proc/config.gz' or kernel boot images
    Affected if Device runs an unpatched stock Android kernel where the bounds check is missing in the vulnerable function
  5. Assess exploitability conditions
    The vulnerability allows local privilege escalation from System privileges. Verify what applications or processes have System-level access on the device using 'ps -A | grep system' via ADB shell
    Affected if Device allows third-party applications or processes to reach System execution context without additional isolation (typical on unpatched devices)

If the device's security patch level is earlier than November 2022 or the kernel version predates the CVE fix, the environment is vulnerable to local privilege escalation via the out-of-bounds write in ProtocolMiscBuilder::BuildSetLinkCapaReportCriteria.

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 Android security patch for the applicable Android version. This is a kernel-level fix requiring a kernel update; no user interaction needed once patch is deployed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the Android version that includes the Android Security Bulletin patch for A-241231983 (refer to source.android.com/security-bulletin)

  1. 1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the month this vulnerability (A-241231983) was patched - these bulletins are published on source.android.com/security-bulletin
  2. 2. Identify the Android version that includes the fix for this kernel vulnerability
  3. 3. Upgrade the device to that Android version or a later version
  4. 4. Verify the patch is applied by checking the kernel version matches the fixed release
Caveat Minor - Android upgrades may have breaking changes for apps targeting older API levels, and some apps may not be compatible with newer Android versions

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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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-2022-42503 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