Boot-time denial of service via malformed shortcut XML
Published Dec 13, 2022 · Updated Apr 22, 2025
Improper exception handling in Android 10, 11, 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to cause a boot-time crash through malformed shortcut XML. ShortcutPackage.loadFromXml passed each shortcut element to parseShortcut without isolating parsing exceptions, so malformed persisted data aborted package loading; the patch catches each exception and ignores that entry. A local user with no additional execution privileges can trigger the failure without user interaction, leaving the device unable to complete a normal boot.
Summary
What happened
Improper exception handling in Android 10, 11, 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users to cause a boot-time crash through malformed shortcut XML. ShortcutPackage.loadFromXml passed each shortcut element to parseShortcut without isolating parsing exceptions, so malformed persisted data aborted package loading; the patch catches each exception and ignores that entry. A local user with no additional execution privileges can trigger the failure without user interaction, leaving the device unable to complete a normal boot.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-20500
- Published
- Dec 13, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 22, 2025
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- CWE-755, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 13, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 22, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=Android-10 Android-11 Android-12 Android-12L Android-13
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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Your stack
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