VulnerabilityPublished 4 Nov 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-20744: MediaTek MT6899, MT6991, MT8793 · Use After Free

Affects MediaTek MT6899, MT6991, MT8793Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.2 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.2Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.08% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 0% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
MediaTek, Inc. MT6899, MT6991, MT8793	Affected =14.0 =15.0 =16.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Organizations and device manufacturers should prioritize deploying the patch identified by MediaTek (ALPS10127160) as soon as it becomes available. Until patches are applied, restricting local access to devices and enforcing strict privilege separation can reduce the risk of exploitation. Employing runtime protections such as memory safety checks, use-after-free detection mechanisms, and enhanced sandboxing can help mitigate exploitation attempts. Regularly updating device firmware and operating systems to the latest versions is critical. Security teams should monitor for signs of privilege escalation attempts and audit devices for unauthorized privilege changes. For environments with high security requirements, consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting anomalous local privilege escalation behaviors. Finally, educating users and administrators about the risks of granting System-level privileges can reduce the likelihood of initial compromise.

Description

In pda, 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: ALPS10127160; Issue ID: MSV-4542.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-20744 is local privilege escalation on devices using affected MediaTek chipsets. While the attacker must already have System-level privileges, this vulnerability can be leveraged to gain higher privileges or bypass security controls, potentially leading to full device compromise. This can affect confidentiality by exposing sensitive data, integrity by allowing unauthorized modification of system components, and availability by destabilizing device operations. The vulnerability could be used in targeted attacks against high-value devices or as part of a multi-stage exploit chain to deepen control over compromised devices. Organizations relying on affected devices, especially those in sensitive sectors such as telecommunications, government, and critical infrastructure, may face increased risk if attackers combine this flaw with other vulnerabilities. The lack of required user interaction facilitates stealthy exploitation once initial access is obtained.

Summary

CVE-2025-20744 is a use-after-free vulnerability categorized under CWE-416 affecting MediaTek chipsets MT6899, MT6991, and MT8793, which are integrated into devices running Android versions 13.0 through 16.0. The vulnerability resides in the 'pda' component, where improper memory management leads to a use-after-free condition. This flaw allows a local attacker who already possesses System-level privileges to escalate their privileges further, potentially gaining unauthorized access to more sensitive system resources or capabilities. The vulnerability does not require user interaction, which simplifies exploitation once the attacker has the necessary privileges. However, exploitation requires that the attacker already have System privileges, which limits the initial attack vector but makes this vulnerability a critical component in multi-stage attacks. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.2, indicating medium severity, with metrics AV:L (local attack vector), AC:L (low attack complexity), PR:H (high privileges required), UI:N (no user interaction), S:U (unchanged scope), and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability rated as low. No public exploits have been reported yet, and MediaTek has assigned a patch ID ALPS10127160 to address this issue. The vulnerability was published on November 4, 2025, and is relevant to a broad range of Android devices using these chipsets, which are common in many smartphones and IoT devices.

CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

corp.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/November-2025 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 00:38 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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