Nr17Operating system · Mediatek

CVE-2025-20704

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 Modem, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to remote escalation of privilege, if a UE has connected to a rogue base station controlled by the attacker, with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Patch ID: MOLY01516959; Issue ID: MSV-3502.

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 confidence

In Modem firmware, a missing bounds check allows an out-of-bounds write. When a user equipment (UE) connects to an attacker-controlled rogue base station, the malformed communications trigger this vulnerability, potentially allowing remote privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware patch (MOLY01516959) to the modem/baseband processor. Users should avoid connecting to unknown or untrusted base stations until the patch is deployed.

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
Nr17Operating system
Affected:all versions
Nr17rOperating system
Affected:all versions

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Identify the modem/baseband processor model
    Check the device's baseband processor information. On Android devices, this is typically found under Settings > About Phone > Baseband version, or via diagnostic codes like *#*#3646633#*#*. Alternatively, use ADB command: 'adb shell getprop ro.baseband' or 'adb shell cat /proc/version' to identify the baseband chip
    Affected if The device shows Mediatek Nr17 or Mediatek Nr17r as the baseband/modem model
  2. Retrieve the current modem firmware version
    Query the baseband firmware version using AT commands (connect via serial terminal or diagnostic port with command 'AT+CGMR' or 'AT+VER') or check the baseband version displayed in the device settings under About Phone > Modem version or Baseband version
    Affected if A version number is returned but the patch identifier MOLY01516959 is not shown or the version is earlier than the patched release
  3. Verify if the vendor patch has been applied
    Check the firmware changelog, modem build information, or contact the device manufacturer documentation to confirm if the patch MOLY01516959 is included. The patched version typically displays the patch identifier or a version number post-patch
    Affected if The patch identifier MOLY01516959 is not present in the firmware version string or build information
  4. Check for rogue base station exposure
    Review network connection logs or use mobile network scanning tools to identify if the device has previously connected to untrusted or unknown base stations. This vulnerability is triggered specifically when connecting to attacker-controlled rogue base stations
    Affected if The device has connected to unrecognized or suspicious base stations, particularly in testing or untrusted network environments

A device is affected if it uses Mediatek Nr17 or Nr17r modem firmware and the patch MOLY01516959 has not been applied, regardless of the specific firmware version.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied firmware patch (MOLY01516959) to the modem/baseband processor. Users should avoid connecting to unknown or untrusted base stations until the patch is deployed.

Fix this in Nr17 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,080.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20704 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20704 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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