CVE-2025-20781

Local privilege escalation via display double free

Published Jan 6, 2026 · Updated Jan 6, 2026

Double free in the display component of MediaTek chipsets on Android 14.0 through 16.0 allows local users with System privileges to elevate access. A display-driver allocation remains in use after release and is freed again, corrupting memory; MediaTek has not disclosed the responsible function or input path. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction, and successful exploitation elevates privileges locally rather than providing remote access.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.08%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Double free in the display component of MediaTek chipsets on Android 14.0 through 16.0 allows local users with System privileges to elevate access. A display-driver allocation remains in use after release and is freed again, corrupting memory; MediaTek has not disclosed the responsible function or input path. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction, and successful exploitation elevates privileges locally rather than providing remote access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-20781
Published
Jan 6, 2026
Updated
Jan 6, 2026
Vendor
MediaTek
Product
MediaTek Display Driver
Classifications
CWE-415, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Android 14.0, 15.0, 16.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

MediaTek · MediaTek Display Driverversion=Android 14.0, 15.0, 16.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-415Double Free
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo