CVE-2025-20806: Google Android Use-After-Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-20806 Overview

CVE-2025-20806 is a Use After Free (UAF) vulnerability in the MediaTek DPE (Depth Processing Engine) component affecting Android devices powered by specific MediaTek chipsets. The vulnerability occurs due to improper memory management in the DPE driver, where memory is accessed after being freed. This memory corruption flaw could allow a malicious actor who has already obtained System privileges to escalate their access, potentially gaining complete control over the affected device without requiring any user interaction.

Critical Impact

Attackers with System-level access can exploit this Use After Free condition to achieve local privilege escalation, potentially compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the entire Android device.

Affected Products

• Google Android 16.0
• MediaTek MT6899 chipset
• MediaTek MT6991 chipset
• MediaTek MT8793 chipset

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-06 - CVE CVE-2025-20806 published to NVD
• 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-20806

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-416 (Use After Free), a memory corruption flaw that occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it references has been freed. In the context of MediaTek's DPE component, this manifests in the depth processing engine driver, which handles image depth calculation for camera-related functions on affected chipsets.

The exploitation requires an attacker to already possess System-level privileges on the device. Once this prerequisite is met, the attacker can trigger the Use After Free condition in the DPE driver to corrupt memory in a controlled manner. This controlled memory corruption can then be leveraged to escalate privileges beyond the System level, potentially achieving kernel-level access or bypassing security boundaries.

The vulnerability affects the local attack surface, meaning physical or local application access is required. However, the absence of any user interaction requirement makes it particularly dangerous for scenarios where malicious applications have already established a foothold on the device.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-20806 lies in the DPE driver's failure to properly manage memory object lifecycles. Specifically, when a memory object is freed, pointers referencing that memory are not properly nullified or validated before subsequent use. This allows dangling pointer access, where the driver attempts to read from or write to memory that has already been deallocated and potentially reallocated for other purposes.

This type of vulnerability typically occurs due to:

• Missing or improper synchronization between memory allocation and deallocation operations
• Failure to set pointers to NULL after freeing associated memory
• Race conditions in multi-threaded code paths that access shared memory resources
• Incorrect reference counting mechanisms

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is local, requiring an attacker to have already achieved System-level privileges on the target device. The exploitation flow involves:

1. Attaining System privileges through a separate vulnerability or legitimate access
2. Triggering the vulnerable code path in the DPE driver
3. Manipulating the heap to control the contents of the freed memory region
4. Causing the driver to access the freed memory, using attacker-controlled data
5. Achieving arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation to kernel level

The attack does not require any user interaction, making it suitable for chained exploitation scenarios where an initial compromise escalates to complete device control.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-20806

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected kernel panic or system instability related to DPE driver operations
• Anomalous memory allocation patterns in depth processing engine components
• Unauthorized privilege escalation attempts originating from System-level processes
• Unusual camera or depth sensor activity without user initiation

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Android system logs for DPE driver errors, crashes, or memory-related warnings
• Implement kernel-level integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized privilege changes
• Deploy behavioral analysis solutions to identify privilege escalation patterns from System to higher levels
• Review application permissions for apps attempting to access DPE driver interfaces

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable enhanced kernel auditing to track memory operations in MediaTek drivers
• Configure device management solutions to alert on unexpected system process behavior
• Monitor for applications with elevated privileges that interact with camera or depth sensor subsystems
• Implement SentinelOne Singularity Mobile to detect and respond to privilege escalation attempts on Android devices

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-20806

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the security patch identified by Patch ID ALPS10114835 from MediaTek
• Update affected Android devices to the latest available firmware version
• Review and restrict applications running with System-level privileges
• Enable SentinelOne endpoint protection for mobile threat defense
• Audit device deployments to identify systems with affected MediaTek chipsets (MT6899, MT6991, MT8793)

Patch Information

MediaTek has released a security patch addressing this vulnerability as documented in their January 2026 Security Bulletin. The patch is identified by:

• Patch ID:ALPS10114835
• Issue ID:MSV-4479

Device manufacturers and OEMs should integrate this patch into their firmware updates. End users should check with their device manufacturer for available security updates that include this fix.

Workarounds

• Limit installation of applications from untrusted sources to reduce the risk of initial System-level compromise
• Implement strict application whitelisting policies on managed devices
• Disable or restrict access to DPE-related functionality if not required for business operations
• Use mobile device management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies and monitor for suspicious activity
• Consider network segmentation to limit potential lateral movement from compromised devices

# Verify device patch level (Android)
adb shell getprop ro.build.security_patch
# Expected output should be 2026-01 or later for patched devices

# Check for MediaTek chipset (identify affected hardware)
adb shell cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -i mediatek