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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2023-20718

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 vcu, 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: ALPS07645181; Issue ID: ALPS07645181.

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

In the MediaTek vcu (Video Control Unit) driver, an out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists due to a missing bounds check. An attacker with System-level execution privileges can exploit this to achieve local privilege escalation. No user interaction is required.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS07645181 via a firmware update from the device manufacturer to address the missing bounds check in the vcu driver.

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:= 11.0= 12.0= 13.0
YoctoOperating system
Affected:= 4.0

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 MediaTek hardware in the system
    Check system information for MediaTek chipset. On Android, run 'getprop ro.product.board' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' and look for MediaTek or MTK identifiers. On Yocto, run 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check dmesg for MediaTek components.
    Affected if The system does not contain MediaTek hardware, the vulnerability does not apply.
  2. Verify the vcu driver is present and loaded
    Check for the vcu driver module. On Android, examine /sys/module/ or run 'lsmod | grep vcu'. On Yocto, check /proc/modules or use 'modprobe -l' to list available modules. Look for modules named 'vcu', 'mtk_vcu', or similar.
    Affected if The vcu driver module is not present on the system, the vulnerability cannot be exploited.
  3. Confirm the OS version matches affected releases
    On Android, run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to check if it returns 11, 12, or 13. On Yocto, check the OS version with 'cat /etc/yocto-release' or 'uname -a' and verify it is version 4.0.
    Affected if The OS version is outside Android 11.0-13.0 or Yocto 4.0, the specific affected version ranges do not apply.
  4. Check if the vendor patch has been applied
    Inspect the vcu driver version or patch status. On Android, check /sys/module/mtk_vcu/version or look for the patch identifier in kernel logs 'dmesg | grep -i vcu'. Compare against the fixed version containing ALPS07645181 if known. On Yocto, check the driver version in /sys/module/mtk_vcu/version or review system firmware update logs.
    Affected if The patch ALPS07645181 has not been applied to the vcu driver, the bounds check vulnerability remains present.

A system is affected if it runs on MediaTek hardware with the vcu driver loaded, operates on Android 11.0-13.0 or Yocto 4.0, and lacks the ALPS07645181 vendor patch.

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

Apply the vendor patch ALPS07645181 via a firmware update from the device manufacturer to address the missing bounds check in the vcu driver.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Identify the MediaTek device or system using the VCU (Video Codec Unit) component running Android 11.0, 12.0, or 13.0, or Yocto 4.0
  2. Contact MediaTek directly or through your device manufacturer to obtain patch ALPS07645181
  3. Apply the vendor-supplied patch ALPS07645181 to address the out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the VCU driver
  4. Verify the patch has been applied by checking the system security patch level or consulting MediaTek's security advisory

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
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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-2023-20718 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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