CVE-2023-20809
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 vdec, 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: DTV03751198; Issue ID: DTV03751198.
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 missing bounds check in the vdec (video decoder) component allows an out of bounds write, which could lead to local privilege escalation to System level. No user interaction is required for exploitation.
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= 10.0= 11.0CVSS 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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Verify Android version is 10.0 or 11.0Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in adb shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The reported version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 (not 10.0.x, 11.0.x, or other versions)
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Identify if device uses MediaTek chipset with vdec componentCheck 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.chipname' in adb shell, or examine /sys/class/video4linux/ for vdec devicesAffected if Device contains a MediaTek video decoder (vdec) component
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Confirm vdec driver is loaded and activeRun 'lsmod | grep vdec' or check 'cat /proc/modules' for vdec-related modules in adb shellAffected if A vdec kernel module is loaded and running
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Verify video decoding is accessibleCheck for /dev/video* nodes related to decoder or test with 'v4l2-ctl --list-devices' if availableAffected if Video decoder device nodes exist and are accessible
User is affected if Android version is exactly 10.0 or 11.0 AND the device contains an active MediaTek vdec video decoder component that is loaded and accessible.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply vendor patch DTV03751198 which adds proper bounds checking in the vdec component. Verify the fix through comprehensive video decoding tests.
- 1. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on the device in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
- 2. Obtain the MediaTek security bulletin containing Patch ID DTV03751198 from corp.mediatek.com or through your device manufacturer's security update
- 3. Apply the vendor patch/OTA update that includes the fix for DTV03751198
- 4. Verify the patch was applied by confirming the Security Patch Level has been updated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,128.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20809 — 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-2023-20809 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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