AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-20797

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-06
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 battery, 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: ALPS10315812; Issue ID: MSV-5534.

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

This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the battery subsystem caused by missing bounds checks. An attacker who already has System privilege can exploit this to escalate to higher privileges (likely root) without user interaction. The flaw allows writing data beyond allocated memory boundaries in the battery component.

MitigationApply the vendor patch ALPS10315812 to update the battery component firmware. Since this requires System-level access, ensure proper access controls and monitor for signs of compromise on devices where the patch cannot be immediately applied.

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= 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. Identify Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB
    Affected if The version is 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 specifically (exact match)
  2. Verify battery subsystem patch level
    Check the battery/firmware update status in Settings > About Phone > Build number, or query the battery management subsystem via 'dumpsys battery' for patch metadata
    Affected if The battery component firmware has not received patch ALPS10315812 (patch level is earlier than the fix)
  3. Confirm exploit requires System privilege
    Review access logs and running processes to determine if any untrusted process or component currently holds System-level permissions on the device
    Affected if The device has been compromised with System-level access, meaning the privilege escalation path is relevant

A device is affected if it runs Android 14.0, 15.0, or 16.0 and the battery subsystem firmware has not been updated with patch ALPS10315812, particularly if System-level compromise is suspected.

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 ALPS10315812 to update the battery component firmware. Since this requires System-level access, ensure proper access controls and monitor for signs of compromise on devices where the patch cannot be immediately applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check the Android system security patch level on the device to confirm if it includes the fix for ALPS10315812. Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level.
  2. If the device has not received a security update including Patch ID ALPS10315812, contact the device manufacturer (OEM) to request the patch or check if an update is available.
  3. Apply the vendor-supplied patch through the device's system update mechanism once released by the OEM.
  4. Verify after patching that the Security Patch Level reflects a date equal to or after the month the fix was released (typically included in subsequent Android security bulletins).

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2025-20797 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
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