Overview
CVE-2025-20777 describes a critical vulnerability found in MediaTek display drivers. This vulnerability allows for a local escalation of privilege, meaning an attacker who has already gained System privilege on the device could potentially elevate their privileges further and gain more control over the system. The vulnerability stems from a missing bounds check, leading to a potential out-of-bounds write. No user interaction is required to exploit this flaw once the attacker has the initial system privilege.
Technical Details
The vulnerability is located within the display driver component of MediaTek devices. Specifically, a missing bounds check allows for an out-of-bounds write operation. This occurs because the driver doesn’t properly validate the size or index of data being written to memory, potentially leading to memory corruption. An attacker with System privilege can leverage this flaw to write arbitrary data to protected memory regions, potentially gaining root privileges or compromising other critical system processes.
The reported Patch ID is ALPS10184870, and the Issue ID is MSV-4752.
CVSS Analysis
At the time of publication, the CVSS score for CVE-2025-20777 is not available (N/A). This is often the case in the initial stages of vulnerability disclosure. Once a CVSS score is assigned, it will provide a more quantitative measure of the vulnerability’s severity based on factors like exploitability, impact, and attack vector. However, given the potential for local privilege escalation without user interaction and the requirement for System privilege to exploit it, a high CVSS score is anticipated.
Possible Impact
The potential impact of CVE-2025-20777 is significant. Successful exploitation can lead to:
- Complete System Compromise: An attacker can gain root access, giving them full control over the device.
- Data Theft: Sensitive data stored on the device can be accessed and stolen.
- Malware Installation: Malicious software can be installed without the user’s knowledge or consent.
- Device Bricking: In some cases, the vulnerability could be used to render the device unusable.
Mitigation and Patch Steps
The primary mitigation step is to apply the official patch provided by MediaTek. Users should check with their device manufacturer for firmware updates containing the fix for CVE-2025-20777 (Patch ID: ALPS10184870).
Here’s a general outline of steps users and manufacturers can take:
- Device Manufacturers: Integrate the provided patch (ALPS10184870) into their firmware builds.
- Users: Check for system updates regularly. Install any available updates as soon as they are released.
- Stay Informed: Follow security advisories from your device manufacturer and MediaTek.
