CVE-2022-20551

Covert audio capture via incomplete attribution verification

Published Feb 28, 2023 · Updated Mar 21, 2025

Elevation of privilege in Android 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users with System privileges to record audio without a privacy indicator. AudioFlinger createTrack passed an OpenSL ES attribution source lacking a package name to AudioPolicyManager before verifying and completing the attribution, causing app-ops monitoring to register incomplete identity data. Exploitation requires local System execution privileges and no user interaction; the bounded consequence is concealed audio recording.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Elevation of privilege in Android 12, 12L, and 13 allows local users with System privileges to record audio without a privacy indicator. AudioFlinger createTrack passed an OpenSL ES attribution source lacking a package name to AudioPolicyManager before verifying and completing the attribution, causing app-ops monitoring to register incomplete identity data. Exploitation requires local System execution privileges and no user interaction; the bounded consequence is concealed audio recording.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-20551
Published
Feb 28, 2023
Updated
Mar 21, 2025
Vendor
Google Cloud
Product
Android
Classifications
T1123
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 28, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 21, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Android-12 Android-12L Android-13

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Google Cloud · Androidversion=Android-12 Android-12L Android-13

Published CVSS scores

6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1123Audio Capture

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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