Denial of service via uncaught exception assertion
Published Jan 6, 2026 · Updated Jan 6, 2026
Reachable assertion in MediaTek Modem allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt modem service through a rogue base station. An uncaught exception causes modem code to read uninitialized heap data and reach an assertion rather than handle the exceptional state. Exploitation requires a device to connect to an attacker-controlled cellular base station; no privileges or user interaction are required, and the reported consequence is service interruption rather than data access or modification.
Summary
What happened
Reachable assertion in MediaTek Modem allows physically proximate attackers to interrupt modem service through a rogue base station. An uncaught exception causes modem code to read uninitialized heap data and reach an assertion rather than handle the exceptional state. Exploitation requires a device to connect to an attacker-controlled cellular base station; no privileges or user interaction are required, and the reported consequence is service interruption rather than data access or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-20760
- Published
- Jan 6, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 6, 2026
- Vendor
- MediaTek
- Product
- MediaTek Modem
- Classifications
- CWE-617, T1499
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=Modem NR15, NR16, NR17
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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