VulnerabilityPublished 2 Mar 2026Updated 30 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-20442: MediaTek chipset · Use After Free

Affects MediaTek chipsetSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.4 Medium.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.4Medium

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

EPSS: 0.07% 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:N/I:N/A:H

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

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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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.MediaTek chipset	Affected MT6739 – MT8883 44 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20442, organizations and device manufacturers should: 1) Apply vendor-provided patches as soon as they become available, referencing Patch ID ALPS10436998. 2) Implement strict privilege separation and limit system-level access to reduce the chance of attackers obtaining the required high privileges. 3) Employ runtime protections such as memory safety checks and use-after-free detection tools during development and testing phases to prevent similar vulnerabilities. 4) Monitor device stability and logs for signs of crashes or abnormal behavior that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5) For embedded and IoT deployments, consider network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of devices with MediaTek chipsets. 6) Maintain up-to-date firmware and software to reduce the attack surface. 7) Engage in threat hunting and incident response readiness to quickly detect and respond to any exploitation attempts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege management, proactive detection, and development best practices specific to chipset vulnerabilities.

Description

In display, there is a possible system crash due to use after free. This could lead to local denial of service if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS10436998; Issue ID: MSV-5723.

Impact

The main impact of CVE-2026-20442 is a local denial of service condition caused by system crashes in devices using affected MediaTek chipsets. Since exploitation requires system-level privileges, the vulnerability is unlikely to be used for initial compromise but can be leveraged by attackers who have already gained high-level access to disrupt device availability. This can affect end-user experience, cause service interruptions, and potentially lead to device instability or forced reboots. In environments where MediaTek chipsets power critical embedded systems or IoT devices, such disruptions could have operational consequences. However, the vulnerability does not allow for data theft or unauthorized code execution beyond causing crashes. The broad range of affected chipset models means a large number of devices globally could be vulnerable, particularly in consumer electronics and mobile devices. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity rating and potential for denial of service warrant timely remediation.

Summary

CVE-2026-20442 is a use-after-free vulnerability categorized under CWE-416 found in the display subsystem of MediaTek chipsets. This flaw arises when the system attempts to access memory that has already been freed, leading to undefined behavior that causes a system crash. The vulnerability affects numerous MediaTek chipset models including MT6739, MT6761, MT6765, MT6768, MT6781, MT6789, and many others widely deployed in smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. Exploitation requires the attacker to have already obtained system-level privileges, which means the attacker must have significant access to the device beforehand. No user interaction is required to trigger the vulnerability, making automated exploitation feasible once privileges are acquired. The primary impact is a local denial of service due to system crashes, with no direct confidentiality or integrity compromise. The CVSS v3.1 score is 4.4 (medium severity), reflecting the limited scope and privilege requirements. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been reported to date. This vulnerability highlights the importance of robust memory management in chipset firmware and the risks posed by use-after-free bugs in critical system components.

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/March-2026 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Mar 2026, 19:44 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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