CVE-2020-0406
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Android's libmpeg2dec library allows an out-of-bounds write due to missing bounds checks. An attacker could potentially escalate privileges locally if they can trigger this vulnerability with specific parameters, requiring user interaction for exploitation. Only Android 11 devices are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Android
📦 What is this software?
Android by Google
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local privilege escalation leading to full device compromise, allowing attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated permissions.
Likely Case
App crashes or instability when processing malicious media files, with privilege escalation requiring additional exploit chaining.
If Mitigated
Limited to denial of service if proper sandboxing and exploit mitigations are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires user interaction and additional exploit to trigger with specific parameters. No known public exploits.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Android Security Patch Level 2020-10-05 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/android-11
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check for Android system updates in Settings > System > Advanced > System update. 2. Install available security updates. 3. Reboot device after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable MPEG-2 video playback
androidPrevent apps from using libmpeg2dec for MPEG-2 video decoding
Restrict app permissions
androidLimit media processing apps to reduce attack surface
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected devices from sensitive networks and data
- Implement application allowlisting to prevent untrusted apps from running
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Android version in Settings > About phone > Android version. If it shows Android 11 and security patch level is before 2020-10-05, device is vulnerable.Check Version:
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release && adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patchVerify Fix Applied:
Verify security patch level is 2020-10-05 or later in Settings > About phone > Android security patch level.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Media server crashes
- libmpeg2dec error messages in system logs
- SIGSEGV signals from media processes
Network Indicators:
- None - local exploitation only
SIEM Query:
source="android_system" AND ("libmpeg2dec" OR "mpeg2" OR "media.server") AND ("crash" OR "segfault" OR "SIGSEGV")