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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20696

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-15
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 preloader, 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. Patch ID: ALPS07856356 / ALPS07874388 (For MT6880 and MT6890 only); Issue ID: ALPS07856356 / ALPS07874388 (For MT6880 and MT6890 only).

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

A missing bounds check in the MediaTek preloader (boot code for MT6880/MT6890 chipsets) allows an out-of-bounds write, potentially enabling local privilege escalation to System level without user interaction.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS07856356 for MT6880 or ALPS07874388 for MT6890) via firmware update from the device OEM or MediaTek.

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:= 13.0
OpenwrtOperating system
Affected:= 19.07.0= 21.02.0

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 the MediaTek chipset model
    Check /proc/cpuinfo for 'Hardware' or 'model name' entry, or on Android check Settings > About Phone > SoC details. Alternatively, use 'lscpu' command or 'cat /sys/devices/soc0/soc_id'
    Affected if The chipset is NOT MT6880 or MT6890 (devices with other MediaTek or non-MediaTek chipsets are not affected)
  2. Confirm Android version if Android device
    On Android, go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via adb shell
    Affected if Android version is NOT 13.0 (only Android 13.0 is affected per CVE scope)
  3. Confirm OpenWrt version if OpenWrt device
    Run 'cat /etc/openwrt_version' or 'cat /etc/os-release' and look for the VERSION_ID field
    Affected if OpenWrt version is NOT 19.07.0 and NOT 21.02.0 (only these specific versions are listed as affected)
  4. Check preloader firmware version (if accessible)
    On MediaTek devices, check boot logs via 'dmesg | grep -i preloader' or 'logcat | grep -i preloader' on Android. Also inspect /proc/mtd for mtd partitions named 'preloader' or 'bootimg'. The preloader version typically appears as 'PRELOADER' or 'PL' followed by a version string
    Affected if Unable to verify preloader version directly from userspace; if accessible, version must be compared against vendor patch levels ALPS07856356 (MT6880) or ALPS07874388 (MT6890)
  5. Check for vendor firmware update availability
    Check device OEM support pages or MediaTek advisory for your specific device model for firmware updates released after the CVE disclosure date (early 2023). On Android, check Settings > System > Software Update
    Affected if Device OEM has NOT released a firmware update addressing this specific MediaTek preloader vulnerability (patch levels ALPS07856356/ALPS07874388 not present)

Device is likely affected if it uses MT6880 or MT6890 chipset with Android 13.0 or OpenWrt 19.07.0/21.02.0 and has not received vendor firmware patches ALPS07856356 or ALPS07874388.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch (ALPS07856356 for MT6880 or ALPS07874388 for MT6890) via firmware update from the device OEM or MediaTek.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-20696 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
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