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MediaTek Chipset EUVDEUVD-2026-52063

| CVE-2026-20474 MEDIUM
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367)
2026-08-03 MediaTek GHSA-mx2w-3qf4-9ffq
6.0
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: MediaTek
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain System privilege via separate exploit
  2. Delivery
    Identify display driver TOCTOU window
  3. Exploit
    Launch racing threads targeting shared resource
  4. Execution
    Win timing race in driver code
  5. Persist
    Corrupt or redirect privileged kernel operation
  6. Impact
    Read or write protected memory

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture TOCTOU prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the attacker to already hold System-level privilege on the local device (PR:H confirmed by CVSS vector) - this is not a remote or unauthenticated attack path. The vulnerability is specific to the display driver subsystem; the affected device must be running one of the 17 listed MediaTek chipsets (MT6991, MT8768, MT8678, MT8799, MT8189, MT8781, MT6993, MT8367, MT8791T, MT8766, MT8188, MT8910, MT8676, MT8786, MT8126, MT8171, MT8668). No user interaction is required once System access is established (UI:N). The critical limiting factor is the System privilege prerequisite - the attacker must chain this with a separate, prior vulnerability or misconfiguration to first reach that privilege level. Standard Android sandboxing, SELinux enforcement, and verified boot reduce the realistic likelihood of reaching the required starting state.

Impact

The CVSS base score of 6.0 reflects a meaningful but context-constrained flaw. The vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N confirms that exploitation is local-only and requires the attacker to already hold System-level access - a significant prerequisite that substantially limits the realistic attacker population. Despite AC:L in the vendor-assigned vector, the underlying CWE-367 race condition intrinsically involves timing dependency, suggesting real-world exploitation complexity may be higher than the score implies. The EPSS score of 0.11% (2nd percentile) corroborates low exploitation likelihood. There is no CISA KEV listing and no known public POC, making this a low-urgency issue in isolation. The primary risk scenario is as a second-stage privilege escalation chained after an initial System-level compromise - not a standalone entry-point attack. The high confidentiality and integrity impact (C:H/I:H) is notable but only materializes after a prior compromise. Defenders should prioritize this as a patch-and-move-on item rather than an emergency response.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has already compromised a process running at Android System privilege on a device equipped with an affected MediaTek chipset targets the display driver's TOCTOU window - racing a concurrent thread to modify a shared resource between the check and use operations. By winning the race, the attacker redirects execution or corrupts kernel state within the display subsystem, elevating privileges beyond System level and gaining read/write access to otherwise protected memory regions or credentials. No public exploit code is known at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 03, 2026

Local privilege escalation in the MediaTek display subsystem affects 17 distinct chipsets including MT6991, MT8768, MT8678, and MT8799, among others. An attacker who has already obtained System-level privilege can exploit a race condition (CWE-367) in the display driver to achieve further privilege escalation, resulting in high confidentiality and integrity impact on the device. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and the EPSS score of 0.11% (2nd percentile) reflects minimal observed exploitation probability; MediaTek has released patch ALPS11019183 via its August 2026 Product Security Bulletin.

RemediationAI

Apply MediaTek patch ALPS11019183, disclosed in the August 2026 MediaTek Product Security Bulletin at https://www.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/August-2026. OEM and ODM device manufacturers using affected chipsets (MT6991, MT8768, MT8678, MT8799, MT8189, MT8781, MT6993, MT8367, MT8791T, MT8766, MT8188, MT8910, MT8676, MT8786, MT8126, MT8171, MT8668) must integrate this patch into their Android security update cycles and push updates to end-user devices. No exact patched firmware or software version number is independently confirmed beyond the patch ID. As a compensating control where patching is delayed, restricting the attack surface by enforcing strict SELinux policies to limit which processes can reach display driver interfaces reduces exposure - however, since PR:H is already required, the realistic compensating control benefit is marginal. No workaround is documented by the vendor.

Affected VersionsENISA

MediaTek chipset MT6991
MediaTek chipset MT8768
MediaTek chipset MT8678
MediaTek chipset MT8799
MediaTek chipset MT8189
MediaTek chipset MT8781
MediaTek chipset MT6993
MediaTek chipset MT8367
MediaTek chipset MT8791T
MediaTek chipset MT8766
MediaTek chipset MT8188
MediaTek chipset MT8910
MediaTek chipset MT8676
MediaTek chipset MT8786
MediaTek chipset MT8126
MediaTek chipset MT8171
MediaTek chipset MT8668

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-367 (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use - TOCTOU), a class of race condition where a resource's state is verified at one point in time but acted upon later, allowing an attacker to modify the resource in the intervening window. In this case, the flaw resides in the display driver component of the MediaTek SoC stack, which operates at a privileged kernel level. The affected CPE (cpe:2.3:a:mediatek,_inc.:mediatek_chipset:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) spans a broad range of MediaTek mobile and embedded chipsets - including MT6991, MT8768, MT8678, MT8799, MT8189, MT8781, MT6993, MT8367, MT8791T, MT8766, MT8188, MT8910, MT8676, MT8786, MT8126, MT8171, and MT8668 - commonly found in Android smartphones and tablets from numerous OEM/ODM manufacturers. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:H) indicates the flaw is reachable only from a local execution context by a process already operating at System privilege, consistent with a kernel display driver accessible to high-privilege Android system processes.

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Severity by source

Vendor (MediaTek) PRIMARY 6.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
vuln.today AI 5.7 MEDIUM

Race condition exploitation inherently requires timing precision, warranting AC:H over the vendor's AC:L; PR:H and AV:L confirmed by System privilege prerequisite and local-only access.

3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (MediaTek).

CVSS VectorVendor: MediaTek

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

3
CVSS changed
Aug 03, 2026 - 20:22 NVD
6.0 (MEDIUM)
CVE Published
Aug 03, 2026 - 02:05 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Aug 03, 2026 - 02:05 cve.org
MEDIUM 6.0

DescriptionCVE.org

In display, there is a possible escalation of privilege due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS11019183; Issue ID: MSV-7758.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
High
MediaTek is the highest-volume mobile chipset vendor globally
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

30
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +30
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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