dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-20805

MEDIUM · 6.7 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 →
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 dpe, 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: ALPS10114696; Issue ID: MSV-4480.

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 the 'dpe' component allows memory corruption that could lead to local privilege escalation. An attacker with existing System-level access can exploit this memory corruption vulnerability without user interaction. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed.

MitigationApply vendor patch ALPS10114696. In the interim, restrict access to the dpe component to trusted personnel only and monitor for indicators of exploitation.

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:= 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
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 device or system settings to confirm the Android version is 16.0. On most devices, go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell.
    Affected if The Android version equals 16.0 exactly (not newer or older patch levels)
  2. Identify dpe component presence
    Search for the 'dpe' component or binary on the system. This may appear as a service, daemon, or library. Use ADB shell to search common directories: 'find /system /vendor /data -name "*dpe*" 2>/dev/null' or check running processes with 'ps -A | grep -i dpe'.
    Affected if The dpe component is found installed or running on the device
  3. Check dpe component status
    If the dpe component is present, determine if it is actively running or loaded. Check process list and any associated services: 'ps -A | grep -i dpe' and 'getprop | grep dpe' via ADB shell.
    Affected if The dpe component is running as a service or loaded into memory
  4. Review system access level
    Confirm the threat model by verifying what level of access an attacker would need. This vulnerability requires System-level access already. Check current privileges: 'id' or 'whoami' via ADB shell.
    Affected if The device has been rooted or compromised allowing System-level access, which would enable exploitation of this flaw

A device is affected if it runs Android version 16.0 AND contains the dpe component, especially if System-level access is possible or the device has been compromised.

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 ALPS10114696. In the interim, restrict access to the dpe component to trusted personnel only and monitor for indicators of exploitation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Contact your device manufacturer (OEM) to request the security patch containing ALPS10114696 (MSV-4480) for the MediaTek dpe use-after-free vulnerability
  2. Verify that your device has received the latest MediaTek security update after the patch date
  3. If the OEM has not released the patch, monitor for forthcoming security updates from your device manufacturer
Caveat Security patches are typically delivered via OEM system updates; there is no direct end-user upgrade path to a specific Android version - you must wait for your device manufacturer to push the patched security update

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-2025-20805 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