dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2022-42526

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 ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 of radio_hal_utils.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-243509880References: 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 · moderate confidence

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function in radio_hal_utils.cpp within the Android kernel. The function lacks proper bounds checking when converting UTF-8 to UCS-2 encoding, allowing a buffer overflow that can be exploited for local privilege escalation to System level without user interaction.

MitigationImplement proper bounds validation in the ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function to ensure the output buffer can accommodate the converted data before writing, preventing buffer overflows.

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 version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Any version of Google Android is installed (all versions are affected)
  2. Identify kernel version
    Run 'uname -a' or check Settings > About Phone > Kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version confirms an Android environment; all Android kernels contain the vulnerable radio_hal_utils.cpp component
  3. Check for radio_hal_utils presence
    Search for the file radio_hal_utils.cpp in the kernel source or check if radio HAL modules are loaded: 'ls /system/lib64/radio_hal*' or check /vendor/lib* directories
    Affected if The presence of radio_hal_utils component indicates the vulnerable code path exists in the build
  4. Verify ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function exists
    Inspect the radio_hal_utils.cpp source code in the kernel tree or grep for 'ConvertUtf8ToUcs2' in kernel modules: 'grep -r ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 /system/lib*' or '/vendor/lib*'
    Affected if The ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function is present, indicating the vulnerable conversion routine is compiled into the system

If the device runs Google Android (any version) with the radio_hal_utils component containing the ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function, it is affected by this vulnerability.

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

Implement proper bounds validation in the ConvertUtf8ToUcs2 function to ensure the output buffer can accommodate the converted data before writing, preventing buffer overflows.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch level (as specified in Android Security Bulletin for the month this CVE was addressed)

  1. 1. Navigate to Settings on the Android device
  2. 2. Go to Security & Privacy > Security Update (or System > Software Update on some devices)
  3. 3. Check for and install the latest Android security patch update
  4. 4. Ensure the device is running the latest available Android security update level
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal risk; updating may affect compatibility with older apps or custom modifications

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2022-42526 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