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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-42508

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 ProtocolCallBuilder::BuildSendUssd of protocolcallbuilder.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-241388966References: 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

A missing bounds check in ProtocolCallBuilder::BuildSendUssd in the Android kernel allows an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. This memory corruption issue can be exploited locally to escalate privileges to System level without requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for the identified Android ID A-241388966. Keep Android devices updated to receive kernel-level security fixes.

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. Check Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Software Information and look at the 'Security patch level' field. This shows the date of the last security update.
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the date when A-241388966 was patched (typically November 2022 or later for the fix)
  2. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version to see the installed OS version.
    Affected if Any version of Android is potentially affected; the fix is determined by the security patch, not the OS version number
  3. Identify if USSD functionality is present
    USSD is a telephony feature. Check if the device has telephony capabilities and USSD support by examining Settings > Network & Internet > SIM cards or checking /system/bin/service list for telephony services.
    Affected if The device has active telephony service with USSD capability enabled - this is the vulnerable code path
  4. Verify kernel version for patch indicators
    Use ADB command 'adb shell uname -a' or check Settings > About Phone > Kernel version to see the running kernel build.
    Affected if Kernel version predates the November 2022 security patch release containing the fix for A-241388966

A device is likely affected if it has not received the Android security patch for November 2022 or later, as this CVE is fixed via the A-241388966 kernel-level security update rather than by version number.

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 the Android security patch for the identified Android ID A-241388966. Keep Android devices updated to receive kernel-level security fixes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android December 2022 Security Patch Level (or later)

  1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android version or Build number)
  2. Apply the December 2022 Android security update or later via system update (Settings > System > System Update > Check for updates)
  3. Verify the security patch level reflects December 2022 or later after updating
  4. If the device is no longer receiving official security updates, consider upgrading to a device model that receives regular Android security patches
Caveat Devices that are end-of-life and no longer receive monthly security patches will not receive a fix for this vulnerability

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-2022-42508 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