CVE-2025-20806
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 · uneditedIn 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: ALPS10114835; Issue ID: MSV-4479.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in the dpe component, allowing memory corruption that could lead to local privilege escalation. However, exploitation requires the attacker to already possess System-level privileges, making this primarily a privilege escalation vector from System to higher privileges rather than initial access.
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= 16.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Android versionRun 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if Version is exactly 16.0 (Android 16.0)
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Verify dpe component presenceCheck if the dpe (Data Path Engine) component is present on the device by examining system partitions or probing for dpe-related processes/servicesAffected if The dpe component exists and is enabled on the device
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Confirm System-level privilegesDetermine if the process or context from which you are analyzing the environment runs with System-level privileges (UID 1000)Affected if You are operating with System-level privileges or higher on an affected Android 16.0 device
You are affected if your device runs Google Android version 16.0, contains the dpe component, and you already possess System-level privileges from which to exploit this use-after-free vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply patch ALPS10114835 to address the use-after-free vulnerability in the dpe component. Since this is a post-exploitation scenario requiring System privilege, prioritize patching in environments where System-level access is possible through other vectors.
Android 16.0 with MediaTek security patch ALPS10114835 applied
- Contact MediaTek directly or through your device manufacturer to obtain patch ALPS10114835 which addresses the use-after-free vulnerability in the DPE driver
- Apply the MediaTek patch ALPS10114835 to the affected Android 16.0 system
- Verify the patch has been applied by checking the system security patch level
- Ensure the device receives the latest Android security update that includes this MediaTek fix
- After patching, verify the DPE driver no longer exhibits use-after-free behavior through appropriate memory debugging tools if available
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,416.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20806 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20806 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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