CVE-2022-20544 is a medium-severity elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting Android 13. The flaw exists in the onOptionsItemSelected method of the ManageApplications.java component, where a missing permission check allows a bypass of profile owner restrictions. Profile owners are device administrators with elevated privileges used primarily in enterprise or managed device contexts to enforce policies and restrictions. Due to the missing permission validation, a local attacker with limited privileges (PR:L) can escalate their privileges without requiring additional execution rights or user interaction. The vulnerability does not require user interaction (UI:N) and can be exploited locally (AV:L), meaning the attacker must have some level of access to the device but can then leverage this flaw to gain higher privileges. The impact includes limited confidentiality and integrity compromise (C:L/I:L) but no impact on availability (A:N). The vulnerability is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), indicating that the system fails to properly enforce access control checks. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no official patches or mitigation links have been provided yet. The vulnerability was reserved in October 2021 and published in December 2022, indicating it has been known for some time but not widely exploited. This flaw primarily affects Android 13 devices, which are increasingly deployed in both consumer and enterprise environments. Given the nature of the vulnerability, it is particularly relevant in managed device scenarios where profile owners enforce security policies, such as corporate-owned devices or BYOD setups with management profiles. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could potentially bypass restrictions imposed by device management, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive functions or data within the device environment.

For European organizations, especially those deploying Android 13 devices under enterprise management, this vulnerability poses a risk of unauthorized privilege escalation on managed devices. This could undermine corporate security policies enforced via profile owners, potentially allowing attackers to bypass restrictions on application management, data access, or device configurations. The impact is particularly significant for sectors with strict compliance requirements such as finance, healthcare, and government, where managed devices are common and data confidentiality and integrity are critical. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect availability, the integrity compromise could lead to unauthorized changes in device settings or access to sensitive information. Since exploitation requires local access, the threat is higher in environments where devices may be physically accessible to attackers or where malware with limited privileges is present. The lack of user interaction requirement increases the risk of automated or stealthy exploitation once initial access is obtained. Overall, the vulnerability could facilitate lateral movement or privilege escalation within corporate mobile environments, weakening endpoint security and increasing the risk of data breaches or policy circumvention.

1. Implement strict physical security controls to prevent unauthorized local access to Android 13 devices, including device lock policies and secure storage. 2. Enforce strong authentication mechanisms and device encryption to reduce the risk of initial compromise that could lead to local exploitation. 3. Monitor and restrict installation of untrusted or potentially malicious applications that could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges. 4. Use Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions that can detect anomalous behavior or unauthorized privilege escalations and enforce timely updates once patches become available. 5. Limit the number of users with local access privileges on managed devices and regularly audit device configurations and installed applications. 6. Until an official patch is released, consider temporarily restricting the use of Android 13 devices in high-risk environments or applying custom security policies that minimize the attack surface related to profile owner functions. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks of local privilege escalation and encourage reporting of suspicious device behavior. 8. Stay informed about updates from Android security bulletins and apply patches promptly once available to remediate this vulnerability.