dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-20723

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 gnss driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect 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: ALPS09920033; Issue ID: MSV-3797.

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 bounds check vulnerability in the gnss driver allows an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation from System privileges to higher privileges. The flaw stems from incorrect bounds validation in driver code, making this a kernel/driver-level security issue.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS09920033 immediately. Since exploitation requires System-level access, prioritize patching systems with elevated local users and conduct post-patch verification to confirm the bounds check fix is properly implemented.

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. Verify Android version is affected
    Check the Android system version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shell
    Affected if Version equals 14.0 or 15.0 exactly
  2. Identify gnss driver presence
    List kernel modules or driver files related to gnss. In ADB shell, run 'ls /proc/driver/' or check /vendor/lib/modules/ for gnss-related kernel objects
    Affected if A gnss driver module is loaded or present on the system
  3. Confirm System-level access exists
    Determine if the device or process runs with System privileges. In ADB shell, run 'id' to check current UID - UID 1000 indicates System user
    Affected if The system or exploitable process runs with UID 1000 (System) or has System-level access that could be escalated
  4. Check if bounds check vulnerability is present
    This requires code-level inspection of the gnss driver binary or vendor-specific security bulletin. Compare the gnss driver version against the patched version containing ALPS09920033
    Affected if The gnss driver version predates the ALPS09920033 patch or no bounds check fix is visible in driver instrumentation

A system is affected if it runs Android 14.0 or 15.0 with a gnss driver that lacks the bounds check fix and has processes running with System-level privileges that could be exploited for privilege escalation.

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 ALPS09920033 immediately. Since exploitation requires System-level access, prioritize patching systems with elevated local users and conduct post-patch verification to confirm the bounds check fix is properly implemented.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Android Security Patch Level incorporating MediaTek patch ALPS09920033 (typically included in Android 15.0+ security updates or Android 14.0 quarterly platform release)

  1. Contact your device OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to obtain the latest Android security patch update that includes the MediaTek GNSS driver fix
  2. Verify the device has received the Android Security Patch Level (SPL) that incorporates the fix for CVE-2025-20723
  3. For MediaTek chipset devices, ensure the OEM has applied MediaTek patch ALPS09920033 to the GNSS driver
  4. If your OEM has not yet released a fix, monitor their security advisory pages for patch availability
  5. Apply the security update through your device's standard system update mechanism once available
Caveat Standard Android security update - minimal risk; may require device restart

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2025-20723 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