CVE-2026-20448

Local privilege escalation via missing permission check

Published May 4, 2026 · Updated May 4, 2026

Improper privilege handling in the geniezone component of MediaTek Chipset allows local users with System privilege to escalate privileges. A required permission check is absent, but MediaTek has not disclosed the affected function, untrusted input, or exact privileged operation. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction; the resulting privilege increase crosses the System security boundary.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper privilege handling in the geniezone component of MediaTek Chipset allows local users with System privilege to escalate privileges. A required permission check is absent, but MediaTek has not disclosed the affected function, untrusted input, or exact privileged operation. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction; the resulting privilege increase crosses the System security boundary.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-20448
Published
May 4, 2026
Updated
May 4, 2026
Vendor
MediaTek
Product
MediaTek Chipset
Classifications
CWE-280, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 4, 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=MT6765
  2. Affected versionversion=MT6768
  3. Affected versionversion=MT6789
  4. Affected versionversion=MT6877
  5. Affected versionversion=MT6897
  6. Affected versionversion=MT6899
  7. Affected versionversion=MT6989
  8. Affected versionversion=MT6991
  9. Affected versionversion=MT6993
  10. Affected versionversion=MT8367
  11. Affected versionversion=MT8766
  12. Affected versionversion=MT8768
  13. Affected versionversion=MT8775
  14. Affected versionversion=MT8781
  15. Affected versionversion=MT8786
  16. Affected versionversion=MT8788E
  17. Affected versionversion=MT8791T
  18. Affected versionversion=MT8792
  19. Affected versionversion=MT8793
  20. Affected versionversion=MT8796
  21. Affected versionversion=MT8893
  22. Affected versionversion=MT8910

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

MediaTek · MediaTek Chipsetversion=MT6765; version=MT6768; version=MT6789; version=MT6877; version=MT6897; version=MT6899; version=MT6989; version=MT6991; version=MT6993; version=MT8367; version=MT8766; version=MT8768; version=MT8775; version=MT8781; version=MT8786; version=MT8788E; version=MT8791T; version=MT8792; version=MT8793; version=MT8796; version=MT8893; version=MT8910

Published CVSS scores

6.7CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-280Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges
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

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Your stack

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