CVE-2025-20804 Overview
CVE-2025-20804 is a use after free vulnerability in the MediaTek DPE (Digital Processing Engine) component affecting Google Android devices running on MediaTek chipsets. The vulnerability exists in the DPE driver where memory corruption can occur due to improper handling of freed memory objects. An attacker with existing System privileges could exploit this vulnerability to achieve local escalation of privilege, potentially gaining additional capabilities beyond their current access level.
Critical Impact
This use after free vulnerability could allow an attacker who has already obtained System privilege to escalate their access further through memory corruption, potentially compromising device integrity and data confidentiality.
Affected Products
- Google Android 16.0
- MediaTek MT6899 chipset
- MediaTek MT6991 chipset
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-01-06 - CVE-2025-20804 published to NVD
- 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-20804
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified as CWE-416 (Use After Free), a memory corruption issue where the application continues to use a pointer after the memory it references has been deallocated. In the context of the MediaTek DPE component, this occurs when the driver fails to properly validate memory states before accessing previously freed objects.
The vulnerability requires an attacker to already have System-level privileges on the affected device, which limits the initial attack surface. However, once exploited, the memory corruption can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code within a higher-privileged context or manipulate critical system data structures. User interaction is required for successful exploitation, adding an additional barrier but not eliminating the risk entirely.
The DPE driver is responsible for digital processing operations on MediaTek chipsets, making it a critical component in the device's multimedia and graphics pipeline. Corruption in this area could have far-reaching effects on system stability and security.
Root Cause
The root cause of CVE-2025-20804 lies in improper memory lifecycle management within the MediaTek DPE driver. When memory objects are freed, the driver fails to properly nullify or invalidate the corresponding pointers. Subsequent operations that reference these dangling pointers lead to use after free conditions, where the memory may have been reallocated for different purposes, causing memory corruption when the stale pointer is dereferenced.
Attack Vector
Exploitation of this vulnerability requires local access to the device with existing System privileges. The attack vector involves triggering specific operations in the DPE driver that cause the use after free condition. An attacker would need to:
- Obtain System-level access on the target Android device
- Craft specific input or trigger particular driver operations that exercise the vulnerable code path
- Manipulate memory allocation patterns to control the contents of the freed memory region
- Trigger the dangling pointer dereference to achieve memory corruption
- Leverage the corruption to escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code
The requirement for user interaction suggests that social engineering or malicious application components may be necessary to complete the exploitation chain.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-20804
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected crashes or kernel panics in the DPE driver or related multimedia subsystems
- Anomalous memory allocation patterns in system logs related to MediaTek components
- Applications requesting or obtaining unexpected elevated privileges
- Unusual system behavior following interaction with multimedia processing functions
Detection Strategies
- Monitor Android system logs for DPE driver errors, crashes, or memory-related warnings
- Implement kernel-level monitoring for use after free patterns in driver memory operations
- Deploy application behavior analysis to detect privilege escalation attempts
- Utilize endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring kernel driver activity
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable comprehensive logging for MediaTek driver components on affected devices
- Implement real-time alerting for privilege escalation events in enterprise mobile device management (MDM) solutions
- Monitor for installation of applications that may attempt to exploit this vulnerability
- Review security patches from MediaTek and Google to ensure timely deployment
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-20804
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the security patch identified as ALPS10198951 from MediaTek immediately
- Review devices for signs of compromise before and after patching
- Restrict installation of applications from untrusted sources on affected devices
- Implement additional access controls to limit System-level privilege acquisition
Patch Information
MediaTek has released a security patch addressing this vulnerability, tracked as Patch ID: ALPS10198951 (Issue ID: MSV-4503). The patch is documented in the MediaTek Security Bulletin for January 2026. Organizations should coordinate with device manufacturers and carriers to obtain and deploy the appropriate firmware updates for affected devices running on MediaTek MT6899 and MT6991 chipsets.
Workarounds
- Limit System-level access on devices to trusted applications and administrators only
- Implement mobile device management (MDM) policies to restrict application installation sources
- Monitor for and block applications that attempt to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities
- Consider disabling or restricting access to multimedia processing features if feasible until patches are applied
# Android device security check
# Verify current patch level on affected devices
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
# Check for MediaTek DPE driver presence
adb shell ls -la /dev/dpe*
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
