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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2024-20034

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 battery, there is a possible escalation of privilege 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: ALPS08488849; Issue ID: ALPS08488849.

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 confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Android battery subsystem (MediaTek ALPS). A missing bounds check in the battery driver or service allows a local attacker to elevate from their current privileges to System-level access without user interaction. The vulnerability requires the attacker to have some prior local access to the device.

MitigationApply the vendor security patch (ALPS08488849) through device OEM firmware updates. This is a platform-level fix that cannot be addressed through application-level changes.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 12.0= 13.0= 14.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via adb shell
    Affected if The version is 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 exactly (not a later patch version)
  2. Verify MediaTek chipset presence
    Run 'getprop ro.hardware' or 'getprop ro.chipname' via adb shell to identify the chipset vendor
    Affected if The device uses a MediaTek (MTK) chipset, as this vulnerability is in the MediaTek ALPS battery subsystem
  3. Check battery service process
    Run 'ps -A | grep -i battery' via adb shell to list running battery-related processes
    Affected if A battery service process is running (this indicates the vulnerable component is present)
  4. Confirm kernel driver presence
    Check for /sys/class/power_supply/ or /dev/mtk_battery_node existence via adb shell with ls command
    Affected if The MediaTek battery driver nodes exist in the system, indicating the affected component is loaded

The device is affected if it runs Android 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0 exactly AND uses a MediaTek chipset with the battery driver present.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor security patch (ALPS08488849) through device OEM firmware updates. This is a platform-level fix that cannot be addressed through application-level changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level containing MediaTek patch ALPS08488849 (check manufacturer firmware releases for specific version containing this fix)

  1. 1. Identify the MediaTek device(s) in your environment running Android 12.0, 13.0, or 14.0
  2. 2. Check the current Android Security Patch Level on affected devices (Settings > Security > Security Patch Level)
  3. 3. Apply the latest available Android security update from your device manufacturer that includes the MediaTek patch ALPS08488849
  4. 4. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking the Security Patch Level reflects the updated version
  5. 5. For enterprise-managed devices, use your MDM/UEM solution to push and verify the security update deployment
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; verify device compatibility and backup data before applying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2024-20034 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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