VulnerabilityPublished 2 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-20581: MediaTek chipset · Use After Free

Affects MediaTek chipsetSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 2 Nov 2026, 02:58 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Nov 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 1 Nov 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 MT6858 – MT8668 7 affected builds	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A patch identified as ALPS11411985 is available for this vulnerability. Users and administrators should apply this official fix to affected MediaTek chipset versions to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

CVE-2026-20581 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the USB component of MediaTek chipsets. It can cause memory corruption leading to local privilege escalation if the attacker already has system privileges. Exploitation does not require user interaction. A patch has been identified (Patch ID: ALPS11411985).

Impact

Successful exploitation can lead to local escalation of privilege on affected MediaTek chipsets, potentially allowing an attacker with system-level access to gain higher privileges. This could increase the attacker's control over the device. No remote or user-interaction vectors are required, but the attacker must already have system privileges.

Summary

This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in the USB subsystem of MediaTek chipsets, which may result in memory corruption. The flaw could allow a malicious actor with existing system privileges to escalate their privileges locally. The issue affects specific MediaTek chipset models including MT6858, MT6881, MT6993, MT8188, MT8189, MT8532, and MT8668. No public exploit code or known exploitation in the wild has been reported. A patch has been referenced by MediaTek (Patch ID: ALPS11411985), indicating remediation is available.

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

mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/November-2026 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Nov 2026, 02:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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