CVE-2026-20481

Local privilege escalation via unchecked bounds write

Published Aug 3, 2026 · Updated Aug 3, 2026

An out-of-bounds write in the geniezone component of affected MediaTek chipsets allows local users with System privilege to escalate privileges. The component writes beyond an intended buffer because an unspecified boundary is not checked before the write operation. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction; MediaTek has not disclosed the vulnerable function, input path, or resulting privilege level.

CVSS severity6.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An out-of-bounds write in the geniezone component of affected MediaTek chipsets allows local users with System privilege to escalate privileges. The component writes beyond an intended buffer because an unspecified boundary is not checked before the write operation. Exploitation requires prior System privilege and no user interaction; MediaTek has not disclosed the vulnerable function, input path, or resulting privilege level.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-20481
Published
Aug 3, 2026
Updated
Aug 3, 2026
Vendor
MediaTek
Product
MediaTek Chipset
Classifications
CWE-787, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 3, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=MT6989
  2. Affected versionversion=MT8755
  3. Affected versionversion=MT8768
  4. Affected versionversion=MT8771
  5. Affected versionversion=MT8775
  6. Affected versionversion=MT8781
  7. Affected versionversion=MT8791T
  8. Affected versionversion=MT8792
  9. Affected versionversion=MT8793
  10. Affected versionversion=MT8796
  11. Affected versionversion=MT8797
  12. Affected versionversion=MT8798
  13. Affected versionversion=MT8799
  14. Affected versionversion=MT8910

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

MediaTek · MediaTek Chipsetversion=MT6989; version=MT8755; version=MT8768; version=MT8771; version=MT8775; version=MT8781; version=MT8791T; version=MT8792; version=MT8793; version=MT8796; version=MT8797; version=MT8798; version=MT8799; version=MT8910

Published CVSS scores

6.0CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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-787Out-of-bounds Write
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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