CVE-2025-20765 is a vulnerability classified as a double free (CWE-415) found in the aee daemon component of numerous MediaTek System on Chips (SoCs), including models MT2718 through MT8698. The flaw arises from a race condition that can cause the daemon to free the same memory twice, leading to memory corruption and ultimately a system crash. This vulnerability affects devices running Android versions 14.0 to 16.0, OpenWRT versions 21.02 and 23.05, and Yocto 4.0, which are commonly deployed in embedded systems, smartphones, and IoT devices. Exploitation does not require user interaction but does require the attacker to have already obtained System-level privileges, indicating a post-compromise scenario. The impact is primarily a local denial of service (DoS) due to system instability or crash. Although no exploits have been reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a risk to device availability and reliability. The issue was reserved in November 2024 and published in December 2025, with a patch identified (ALPS10190802, Issue ID MSV-4833), though no direct patch links are provided. The vulnerability's root cause is a race condition leading to double freeing memory, a critical memory management error that can destabilize the system process responsible for error reporting and diagnostics (aee daemon).

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-20765 is the potential for local denial of service on devices using affected MediaTek chipsets. This can disrupt critical operations, especially in sectors relying on embedded systems such as telecommunications infrastructure, IoT deployments, and mobile devices. System crashes could lead to downtime, loss of monitoring and diagnostic capabilities, and increased maintenance costs. Since exploitation requires prior system-level access, the vulnerability is more likely to be leveraged in targeted attacks following an initial compromise, potentially as a method to disrupt forensic or recovery efforts. The broad range of affected chipsets means that many consumer and industrial devices could be impacted, increasing the attack surface. In environments with strict uptime requirements, such as healthcare or industrial control systems, this vulnerability could have significant operational consequences. Additionally, the lack of user interaction for exploitation increases the risk of automated or rapid exploitation once system privileges are obtained.

1. Apply vendor-provided patches immediately once available to address the double free vulnerability in the aee daemon. 2. Restrict and monitor system-level privileges rigorously to prevent unauthorized escalation to System privilege, as exploitation requires such access. 3. Implement robust endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect abnormal daemon crashes or suspicious activity indicative of exploitation attempts. 4. Conduct regular audits of device firmware and software versions to ensure no vulnerable versions remain in use. 5. For embedded and IoT devices, employ network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices and limit the impact of potential crashes. 6. Develop incident response plans that include recovery procedures for devices affected by daemon crashes to minimize downtime. 7. Collaborate with device vendors to obtain timely updates and verify patch deployment across all affected assets. 8. Use memory protection mechanisms and runtime integrity checks where possible to detect and prevent memory corruption issues.