dbcve.org
Iot YoctoApplication · Mediatek

CVE-2025-20721

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-14
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 imgsensor, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. 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: ALPS10089545; Issue ID: MSV-4279.

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 missing bounds check in the imgsensor driver (camera image sensor) allows an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. An attacker with existing System privilege can exploit this to escalate to higher privileges (likely root) without user interaction. The vulnerability exists in the kernel/driver space of mobile device firmware.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS10089545 to the imgsensor driver. This is a firmware-level update requiring careful testing to ensure camera sensor functionality remains intact after the bounds check is added.

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
Iot YoctoApplication
Affected:= 25.0
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 13.0= 14.0= 15.0= 16.0

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 OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if The version matches 13.0, 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 exactly (note: this CVE may affect specific sub-versions within these releases; compare your exact build to vendor security bulletins)
  2. Check Mediatek firmware version on IoT devices
    On Mediatek Iot Yocto devices, check the firmware version via 'cat /etc/version' or 'uname -a' output, or check 'getprop ro.build.version.incremental'
    Affected if The firmware version equals 25.0 exactly (compare against Mediatek's official security advisory for this CVE)
  3. Verify imgsensor driver is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep imgsensor' or check /sys/module/ directory for imgsensor module presence via 'ls /sys/module/ | grep imgsensor'
    Affected if The imgsensor kernel module is present and loaded (the vulnerability only affects devices with this driver enabled)
  4. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell, or check Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the vendor patch ALPS10089545 release date (patch level below the month the fix was shipped)
  5. Check kernel version and build
    Run 'uname -a' and 'cat /proc/version' to identify the kernel build; for Mediatek devices also check 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' for SoC details
    Affected if The running kernel is from the affected Android versions without the bounds check patch applied to the imgsensor driver code

A defender is affected if they run Android 13.0-16.0 or Mediatek Iot Yocto 25.0, have the imgsensor driver loaded, and are on a security patch level predating the ALPS10089545 fix.

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 patch ALPS10089545 to the imgsensor driver. This is a firmware-level update requiring careful testing to ensure camera sensor functionality remains intact after the bounds check is added.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Contact MediaTek or your device manufacturer to obtain the security patch ALPS10089545 which addresses this vulnerability
  2. Apply the patch through the device manufacturer's standard OTA (Over-The-Air) update mechanism or firmware update process
  3. Verify the patch has been applied by checking the system security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information > Security Patch Level
  4. Ensure the device is running the latest available security update from your device manufacturer
Caveat Patches for MediaTek SoC vulnerabilities are typically delivered through device manufacturer firmware updates rather than direct upgrades; coordinate with your device/OEM vendor

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

Fix this in Iot Yocto Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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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-2025-20721 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
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