CVE-2026-20415 Overview
CVE-2026-20415 is a memory corruption vulnerability in the MediaTek imgsys component affecting Android devices using the MT6897 and MT6989 chipsets. The flaw stems from improper locking, which can be triggered without user interaction. Successful exploitation results in a local denial of service on the affected device.
MediaTek tracks the issue as MSV-5617 and addresses it via patch ID ALPS10363254. The vulnerability requires that an attacker already hold System privilege on the target device, limiting practical exploitation scope. The Common Weakness Enumeration classification maps to [CWE-415] and [CWE-667].
Critical Impact
An attacker with existing System privilege can trigger memory corruption in the imgsys driver, causing a local denial of service on devices using MediaTek MT6897 or MT6989 chipsets.
Affected Products
- Google Android 15.0
- MediaTek MT6897 chipset
- MediaTek MT6989 chipset
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-02-02 - CVE-2026-20415 published to NVD
- 2026-02-03 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-20415
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the MediaTek imgsys kernel component, which handles image signal processing on MT6897 and MT6989 SoCs. Improper locking allows concurrent access paths to manipulate shared state in an inconsistent manner. The resulting race condition leads to memory corruption within the kernel driver.
The weakness aligns with [CWE-667] (Improper Locking) and [CWE-415] (Double Free). A double free occurs when a memory region is released twice due to missing or incorrect synchronization between threads. Exploitation produces kernel instability and terminates the affected subsystem.
The attack vector is local and requires low attack complexity. No user interaction is needed, and the impact is limited to availability. Confidentiality and integrity are not affected by this issue.
Root Cause
The imgsys driver fails to enforce mutual exclusion around shared data structures during concurrent operations. When two execution contexts manipulate the same resource without proper serialization, freed memory may be referenced or released a second time. This produces undefined kernel behavior and corrupts heap state.
Attack Vector
An attacker must first obtain System-level privileges through a separate exploit chain. With System privilege, the attacker issues crafted requests to the imgsys driver from multiple threads to win the race. Triggering the corrupted state crashes the kernel subsystem and denies image processing services to the device.
No public proof-of-concept exploit code is available for CVE-2026-20415. Refer to the MediaTek Security Bulletin February 2026 for vendor-supplied technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-20415
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected kernel panics or reboots referencing the imgsys driver in logcat or dmesg output.
- Repeated crashes of camera or image processing services on MT6897 or MT6989 devices.
- Anomalous System-privileged processes issuing high-frequency ioctl calls to imgsys device nodes.
Detection Strategies
- Monitor Android crash reports and tombstone files for signatures referencing imgsys kernel symbols.
- Inspect mobile device management telemetry for devices running Android 15.0 on affected MediaTek chipsets without the February 2026 patch level.
- Correlate System-privilege process activity with kernel subsystem failures to identify attempted local exploitation.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Track Android security patch levels across the device fleet and flag endpoints below February 2026.
- Forward kernel logs from managed devices to centralized logging for analysis of imgsys driver faults.
- Alert on repeated denial-of-service patterns affecting image processing services on MediaTek-based hardware.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-20415
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the February 2026 MediaTek security patch level on all affected Android devices.
- Verify devices using MT6897 and MT6989 chipsets receive vendor firmware updates from their OEM.
- Restrict installation of untrusted applications that could be leveraged to reach System privilege through chained exploits.
Patch Information
MediaTek released patch ID ALPS10363254 to address issue MSV-5617. Device manufacturers integrate this fix into their Android security patch level updates. Consult the MediaTek Security Bulletin February 2026 for vendor guidance and OEM-specific rollout schedules.
Workarounds
- No vendor-supplied workarounds exist; applying the patch is the only complete remediation.
- Limit deployment of applications with elevated privileges as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Enroll affected devices in mobile device management to enforce patch compliance and monitor for tampering.
# Verify Android security patch level on affected devices
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
# Confirm patch level is 2026-02-01 or later
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
