CVE-2023-20733
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 · uneditedIn vcu, there is a possible use after free due to improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07645149; Issue ID: ALPS07645149.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in MediaTek's VCU (Video Codec Unit) driver due to improper locking synchronization. An attacker with System-level privileges can exploit this memory management flaw to escalate to higher privileges. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and affects local privilege escalation scenarios.
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= 22.2= 4.0= 12.0= 13.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify MediaTek VCU hardware platformCheck system for MediaTek SoC by examining /proc/cpuinfo, dmesg, or device tree files for 'mediatek' or 'MTK' references, or check /sys/class/misc/media-ctl if availableAffected if System does not use MediaTek hardware with VCU (Video Codec Unit)
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Verify Yocto Linux versionCheck /etc/VERSION or /etc/os-release for the Yocto release version. For IoT Yocto, check the build configuration or /etc/issueAffected if Running Linuxfoundation Iot Yocto 22.2 or Linuxfoundation Yocto 4.0 exactly (exact version match required)
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Verify Android versionCheck Android system settings 'About phone' or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' to get the Android version numberAffected if Running Google Android 12.0 or 13.0 exactly (exact version match required)
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Check for VCU driver presenceLook for VCU driver module or device node: examine lsmod for vcu-related modules, check /dev/video* nodes, or look in /sys/module for 'vcu' or 'vdec' related kernel modulesAffected if VCU driver is not present or not loaded on the system
A system is affected only if it uses MediaTek hardware with VCU driver AND runs exactly Yocto 22.2 (IoT), Yocto 4.0, Android 12.0, or Android 13.0, and has the VCU driver loaded.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the vendor patch ALPS07645149 through system firmware/OTA update. Until the patch is applied, limit access to trusted users and monitor for suspicious system behavior.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20733 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-20733 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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