dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2026-20414

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-02
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 imgsys, there is a possible escalation of privilege 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: ALPS10362999; Issue ID: MSV-5625.

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 imgsys component allows a malicious actor who already has System-level privileges to escalate to higher privileges (likely kernel/root). The vulnerability involves improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, leading to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges. No user interaction is required for exploitation.

MitigationApply patch ALPS10362999 to address the use-after-free vulnerability in imgsys. Since the attacker already needs System privileges, prioritize patching systems with restricted administrative access and monitor for any indicators of compromise.

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:= 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
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. Confirm Android version is 15.0
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version and verify the version number matches exactly 15.0
    Affected if The Android version shows 15.0 (exact match required)
  2. Identify the SoC/chipset vendor
    Check device specifications in Settings > About Phone > Model or via system info apps to determine if the device uses a MediaTek chipset (imgsys is the MediaTek image system component)
    Affected if The device uses a MediaTek SoC and Android 15.0 is running
  3. Check system partition for imgsys component
    Using a root shell, examine /vendor/lib or /system/lib for libimgsys* files, or check /sys/class/misc/imgsys/ for the presence of the imgsys kernel module
    Affected if The imgsys component is present and loaded on the device
  4. Verify patch level in security update
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level and check if the installed security update includes ALPS10362999 - this information may appear in the detailed security bulletin or build.prop as security.patch.level
    Affected if The device is on Android 15.0, has imgsys component, and the ALPS10362999 patch is NOT reflected in the current security patch level

A device is affected if it runs Android 15.0 on MediaTek hardware with the imgsys component present and the ALPS10362999 patch has not been applied.

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 patch ALPS10362999 to address the use-after-free vulnerability in imgsys. Since the attacker already needs System privileges, prioritize patching systems with restricted administrative access and monitor for any indicators of compromise.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check for system updates on the affected Android 15.0 device and apply the latest security patch
  2. Contact the device manufacturer (e.g., Mediatek, OEMs using Mediatek chipsets) to confirm availability of the ALPS10362999 patch
  3. If the device manufacturer has released an update containing patch ALPS10362999, apply that update to remediate the use-after-free vulnerability in imgsys
  4. Verify the device is running the patched version of the imgsys driver

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-2026-20414 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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