CVE-2022-42518
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 · uneditedIn BroadcastSmsConfigsRequestData::encode of smsdata.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-242536278References: 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 confidenceA missing bounds check in BroadcastSmsConfigsRequestData::encode in smsdata.cpp allows an out-of-bounds write, which can be exploited for local privilege escalation from System privileges.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm the device runs Google AndroidCheck the system property 'ro.build.fingerprint' or 'ro.product.brand' - look for 'Android' in the build information. On Linux systems with Android tools, run: getprop ro.build.fingerprintAffected if The device is running any version of Google Android (all versions are affected)
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Identify the Android security patch levelCheck 'ro.build.version.security_patch' via getprop or look in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level. Run: getprop ro.build.version.security_patchAffected if The patch level is earlier than November 2022 (the month this CVE was addressed)
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Locate the smsdata componentSearch for smsdata.cpp compiled objects or the library containing BroadcastSmsConfigsRequestData. Check system framework directories: find /system/framework -name '*sms*' 2>/dev/null or look in the telecom frameworkAffected if The smsdata library/binary exists and is in use on the device (the vulnerable code path is present in all Android versions)
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Verify SMS configuration service is accessibleCheck if the telecom or SMS service is running: dumpsys telecom | grep -i sms or ps -A | grep -i sms. The encode function in BroadcastSmsConfigsRequestData handles SMS config serialization.Affected if SMS/Telecom services are active, enabling the code path where the vulnerable encode function can be reached
A user is affected if running Google Android with a security patch level earlier than November 2022 and the SMS configuration service is accessible on the device.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Android security patch that addresses this vulnerability; the fix requires adding proper bounds validation in the encode function to prevent buffer overflows.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-42518 — 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-2022-42518 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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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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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