CVE-2023-20736
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 out of bounds write due to a race condition. 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: ALPS07645189.
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 confidenceA race condition in the MediaTek VCU (Video Control Unit) driver allows an attacker with System-level privileges to trigger an out-of-bounds write, potentially achieving local privilege escalation. The vulnerability stems from improper synchronization around shared memory access in the VCU component.
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
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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.
-
Identify MediaTek hardware platformCheck system information for MediaTek chipset: on Android, use 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or check '/sys/devices/soc0/soc_id'; on Yocto, use 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or 'lspci'/'lsusb' to enumerate hardwareAffected if System is running on MediaTek SoC/hardware and matches affected product lines (Android 12.0/13.0 or Yocto 4.0/22.2)
-
Verify VCU driver presenceCheck for VCU driver module in kernel: 'ls /sys/module/ | grep -i vcu' or look for 'mtk_vcu' in '/proc/modules' and check '/dev/video*' or '/sys/class/video' for VCU device nodesAffected if VCU driver module (mtk_vcu or similar) is loaded and VCU device nodes exist in /dev or /sys
-
Confirm Android versionOn Android devices: run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check 'Settings > About Phone > Android version'Affected if Android version is 12.0 or 13.0 on MediaTek devices
-
Confirm Yocto versionOn Yocto systems: check '/etc/oe-release' or 'cat /etc/version' or run 'cat /etc/os-release' to identify the Yocto release stringAffected if Yocto version is 4.0 or 22.2 running on MediaTek hardware
-
Check driver version if accessibleIf VCU module is loaded, check module info: 'modinfo mtk_vcu' or check version in '/sys/module/mtk_vcu/version' if availableAffected if Driver version cannot be verified as patched or matches unpatched vulnerable versions
A system is affected if it runs on MediaTek hardware with the VCU driver enabled and uses Android 12.0/13.0 or Yocto 4.0/22.2, since these versions contain the vulnerable VCU driver code with the race condition.
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 which addresses the race condition in the VCU driver. Since System privileges are already required for exploitation, prioritize patching devices running affected MediaTek firmware.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20736 — 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-2023-20736 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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