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Software Development KitApplication · Mediatek

CVE-2025-20742

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.6.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
82/100
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 wlan AP driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. This could lead to remote (proximal/adjacent) escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: WCNCR00432680; Issue ID: MSV-3949.

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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the WLAN Access Point driver where an incorrect bounds check allows an out-of-bounds write. An attacker within proximity (Wi-Fi range) can exploit this to escalate privileges on the affected device without any user interaction or additional privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor firmware patch (WCNCR00432680) to update the WLAN AP driver. Since this is a proximal/adjacent network attack, consider network segmentation and restricting Wi-Fi access to trusted devices as an interim measure.

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
Software Development KitApplication
Affected:<= 7.6.7.2
OpenwrtOperating system
Affected:= 19.07.0= 21.02.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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 Openwrt version
    Run 'cat /etc/openwrt_release' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to display the installed Openwrt version
    Affected if The version shown is 19.07.0 or 21.02.0, indicating the system matches an affected release
  2. Check Mediatek SDK version
    Examine the firmware version or kernel version via 'cat /proc/version', boot logs, or the system info interface; look for SDK version indicators (typically displayed as 'SDK 7.x.x' or similar)
    Affected if The SDK version displayed is 7.6.7.2 or any earlier version (7.x.x where x is less than or equal to 7.6.7.2)
  3. Confirm WLAN Access Point driver is in use
    Run 'iwconfig' or 'ip link show' to list wireless interfaces, then check if an AP/hostapd process is active using 'ps | grep hostapd' or by examining /var/run/hostapd.conf
    Affected if A Wi-Fi interface is configured in AP mode and the hostapd or similar WLAN AP daemon is running, meaning the vulnerable driver component is active
  4. Verify Mediatek wireless hardware or driver
    Run 'lsmod | grep -i mediatek' or check 'lspci'/'lsusb' output for Mediatek wireless adapters; also check 'iw list' for driver information
    Affected if A Mediatek wireless driver module is loaded or a Mediatek Wi-Fi device is present, indicating the affected driver is in use

The system is affected if it runs Openwrt 19.07.0 or 21.02.0, or Mediatek SDK version 7.6.7.2 or earlier, AND has an active WLAN Access Point with a Mediatek wireless driver in use.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.6.7.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor firmware patch (WCNCR00432680) to update the WLAN AP driver. Since this is a proximal/adjacent network attack, consider network segmentation and restricting Wi-Fi access to trusted devices as an interim measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Contact MediaTek for the fixed SDK version (newer than 7.6.7.2) containing patch WCNCR00432680

  1. 1. Contact MediaTek directly via their official support channels (corp.mediatek.com or their security advisory page) to request the fixed version for SDK version 7.6.7.2 and the patched OpenWrt builds.
  2. 2. Request the patch WCNCR00432680 / MSV-3949 which addresses the heap-based buffer overflow in the WLAN AP driver.
  3. 3. Apply the MediaTek-provided firmware/driver update that incorporates this patch.
  4. 4. For OpenWrt users: Check if MediaTek or the OpenWrt community has released updated packages for versions 19.07.0 and 21.02.0 that include the security fix.
  5. 5. After patching, verify the driver version includes the fix by checking the kernel module version or consulting MediaTek release notes.
Caveat Verify driver compatibility with your specific hardware platform after upgrading; consult MediaTek release notes for any API or configuration changes

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

Fix this in Software Development Kit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2025-20742 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