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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-20707

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 geniezone, 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: ALPS09924201; Issue ID: MSV-3820.

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 vulnerability in geniezone allows a local attacker with existing System privileges to corrupt memory and escalate to higher privileges. The vulnerability requires no user interaction and involves memory that is freed but still accessed.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS09924201 immediately. Since exploitation requires System-level access, prioritize patching systems with elevated local access and monitor for post-exploitation activity.

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:= 13.0= 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Android version
    Check the Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version matches exactly 13.0, 14.0, or 15.0
  2. Identify geniezone component presence
    Check if the geniezone driver exists on the device by searching for geniezone-related files or modules. Run 'find /system -name *genie*' or check /vendor/lib/modules/ for any geniezone-related kernel modules via ADB shell
    Affected if The geniezone component is present on the device
  3. Confirm System-level access context
    Determine if the device has applications or services running with System-level privileges that could potentially trigger the vulnerable code path. Check running processes with 'ps -A | grep -i system' via ADB shell
    Affected if System-level processes are active on the device
  4. Check for memory corruption indicators
    Review kernel logs for use-after-free errors related to geniezone. Run 'dmesg | grep -i genie' or check /sys/kernel/debug/gator logs via ADB shell
    Affected if Any geniezone-related memory corruption logs are found in kernel or system logs

A device is affected if it runs Android 13.0, 14.0, or 15.0 and contains the geniezone component, as the use-after-free vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker who already has System-level access.

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 vendor patch ALPS09924201 immediately. Since exploitation requires System-level access, prioritize patching systems with elevated local access and monitor for post-exploitation activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android Security Patch Level containing CVE-2025-20707 (check Android Security Bulletins for specific month)

  1. Contact MediaTek directly to obtain patch ALPS09924201 for the geniezone vulnerability
  2. Apply the MediaTek firmware update containing the patch through your device OEM's security update channel
  3. Verify the patch has been applied by checking the Android Security Patch Level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information
  4. Ensure devices are running the latest Android Security Patch Level as published in the Android Security Bulletin that includes this fix
  5. For enterprise deployments, push the firmware update via MDM/EMM solution after testing
Caveat Firmware updates for baseband/TEE components may require device reboot and should be tested in staging environment before broad deployment

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-20707 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