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Rdk BApplication · Rdkcentral

CVE-2023-20725

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-06
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: ALPS07734004 / ALPS07874358 (For MT6880, MT6890, MT6980, MT6990 only); Issue ID: ALPS07734004 / ALPS07874358 (For MT6880, MT6890, MT6980, MT6990 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 · high confidence

In the MediaTek preloader component (boot ROM secondary program loader), a missing bounds check allows an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation from System privileges. Affected chipsets are MT6880, MT6890, MT6980, and MT6990.

MitigationApply the vendor patch (ALPS07734004/ALPS07874358) by updating the preloader firmware through the OEM/ODM firmware update channel for affected MediaTek SoCs.

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
Rdk BApplication
Affected:= 2022q3
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 12.0= 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
    On Android: run 'getprop ro.mediatek.platform' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' to find the chipset. On Linux/OpenWrt: run 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check dmesg for MediaTek hardware detection.
    Affected if The chipset matches MT6880, MT6890, MT6980, or MT6990.
  2. Confirm the Android version
    On Android devices: run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to check the Android version.
    Affected if The version is 12.0 or 13.0.
  3. Confirm the OpenWrt version
    On OpenWrt: run 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'cat /proc/version' to identify the OpenWrt release version.
    Affected if The version is 19.07.0 or 21.02.0.
  4. Confirm the RDK version
    For RDKcentral devices: check the firmware version or build identifier for the 2022q3 release.
    Affected if The version matches 2022q3.

A device is affected if it uses one of the affected MediaTek chipsets (MT6880, MT6890, MT6980, MT6990) AND runs an affected OS version (Android 12.0/13.0, OpenWrt 19.07.0/21.02.0, or RDK 2022q3).

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 (ALPS07734004/ALPS07874358) by updating the preloader firmware through the OEM/ODM firmware update channel for affected MediaTek SoCs.

Fix this in Rdk B 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-2023-20725 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data