Adjacent privilege escalation via unchecked heap write
Published Aug 3, 2026 · Updated Aug 3, 2026
Heap-based buffer overflow in the MediaTek chipset wlan AP driver allows remote attackers on an adjacent network to escalate privileges. The driver performs a heap write without a required bounds check; MediaTek has not disclosed the affected function or malformed input. Exploitation requires no existing privileges or user interaction; the affected chipset models are MT6890, MT7915, MT7916, MT7981, and MT7986.
Summary
What happened
Heap-based buffer overflow in the MediaTek chipset wlan AP driver allows remote attackers on an adjacent network to escalate privileges. The driver performs a heap write without a required bounds check; MediaTek has not disclosed the affected function or malformed input. Exploitation requires no existing privileges or user interaction; the affected chipset models are MT6890, MT7915, MT7916, MT7981, and MT7986.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-20465
- Published
- Aug 3, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2026
- Vendor
- MediaTek
- Product
- MediaTek Chipset
- Classifications
- CWE-122, T1068
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 3, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 3, 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.
- Affected versionversion=MT6890
- Affected versionversion=MT7915
- Affected versionversion=MT7916
- Affected versionversion=MT7981
- Affected versionversion=MT7986
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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