CVE-2023-20746
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 improper locking. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with System execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS07519142; Issue ID: ALPS07519217.
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 confidenceThis is a MediaTek Video Codec Unit (VCU) vulnerability where improper locking leads to an out-of-bounds write. An attacker with System-level execution privileges can exploit this for local privilege escalation without user interaction. The vulnerability stems from race conditions in synchronization within the VCU driver/hardware interface.
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 presenceCheck system hardware information using commands like 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' for MediaTek SoC details, or 'ls /dev/video*' or check /sys/class/video4linux for VCU-related devicesAffected if System uses a MediaTek SoC with Video Codec Unit (VCU) hardware component present
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Verify VCU kernel driver is loadedCheck for loaded kernel modules related to VCU using 'lsmod | grep -i vcu' or check /sys/module for mtk_vcu or similar MediaTek VCU driver modulesAffected if VCU driver module (mtk_vcu or similar) is loaded in the kernel
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Check VCU firmware/driver versionInspect VCU driver version through /sys/module/mtk_vcu/version or check firmware files in /lib/firmware/mediatek/ for VCU firmware files and their version metadataAffected if Unable to confirm the VCU firmware/driver has the patch ALPS07519142 applied (version does not match fixed builds)
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Confirm system privilege levelVerify current user has System-level or root privileges using 'id' or 'whoami' commands, and check for ability to access VCU device nodesAffected if Attacker can obtain System-level (root) execution privileges on the device
System is affected if it runs a MediaTek SoC with active VCU driver on Yocto 22.2, Yocto 4.0, Android 12.0, or Android 13.0, where the VCU firmware/driver lacks the ALPS07519142 patch and the attacker can gain System-level access.
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 MediaTek patch (ALPS07519142) via firmware/driver update through the device manufacturer's security update channel. This requires updating the VCU firmware and associated kernel drivers.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,160.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20746 — 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-2023-20746 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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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
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