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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-20706

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 mbrain, there is a possible memory corruption due to use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS09924624; Issue ID: MSV-3826.

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

A use-after-free memory corruption vulnerability exists in the mbrain component (likely MediaTek/Alpine firmware). This allows local privilege escalation without user interaction. An attacker with local code execution can exploit the freed memory to escalate privileges. The patch ID ALPS09924624 addresses this vulnerability.

MitigationApply security patch ALPS09924624 to the mbrain component. Since exploitation requires local code execution, ensure proper app vetting and restrict unnecessary local permissions to reduce attack surface.

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:= 14.0= 15.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in adb shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version shown is 14.0 or 15.0 (exact match, not range)
  2. Confirm MediaTek chipset presence
    Run 'getprop ro.chipset' or 'getprop ro.hardware' in adb shell to identify the chipset vendor
    Affected if The device uses a MediaTek chipset (mbrain is a MediaTek/Alpine component)
  3. Verify security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' in adb shell or check Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
    Affected if The patch level is earlier than the date associated with ALPS09924624, indicating the fix is not applied
  4. Check mbrain component version
    Run 'dumpsys package com.mediatek.mbrain' or look for mbrain-related entries in 'dumpsys' output if available
    Affected if The mbrain component version is present and the vendor patch level does not include ALPS09924624

The device is affected if it runs Android 14.0 or 15.0 on a MediaTek chipset and the security patch level does not include the ALPS09924624 fix for the mbrain component's use-after-free vulnerability.

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 security patch ALPS09924624 to the mbrain component. Since exploitation requires local code execution, ensure proper app vetting and restrict unnecessary local permissions to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Android security patch (check Android Security Bulletin for the specific patch level containing ALPS09924624)

  1. 1. Check the Android Security Patch Level on the affected device through Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. Apply the latest Android security update for your device from your device manufacturer's update channel
  3. 3. Verify the device is running Android 14.0 or 15.0 with the latest security patches installed
  4. 4. Confirm the Security Patch Level includes the fix for MSV-3826 / ALPS09924624

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2025-20706 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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