CVE-2025-20654
📋 TL;DR
This critical vulnerability in MediaTek wlan service allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code without authentication or user interaction. It affects devices using MediaTek chipsets with vulnerable wlan firmware. Successful exploitation gives attackers full system control.
💻 Affected Systems
- MediaTek chipset devices with wlan functionality
📦 What is this software?
Mt6890 by Mediatek
Mt7622 by Mediatek
Mt7915 by Mediatek
Mt7915 by Mediatek
Mt7916 by Mediatek
Mt7981 by Mediatek
Mt7986 by Mediatek
Openwrt by Openwrt
Openwrt by Openwrt
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete device compromise leading to persistent backdoor installation, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within networks.
Likely Case
Remote code execution leading to botnet enrollment, cryptocurrency mining, or credential theft.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if network segmentation and strict firewall rules prevent external access to wlan services.
🎯 Exploit Status
CVSS 9.8 indicates trivial exploitation with high impact. No authentication required and no user interaction needed makes this highly dangerous.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: WCNCR00406897
Vendor Advisory: https://corp.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/April-2025
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact device manufacturer for firmware updates. 2. Apply MediaTek patch WCNCR00406897. 3. Update device firmware through manufacturer's update mechanism. 4. Reboot device after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable wlan service
androidTemporarily disable the affected wlan service to prevent exploitation
adb shell pm disable com.mediatek.wlan.service
systemctl stop wlan_service
Network segmentation
allIsolate affected devices in separate VLANs with strict firewall rules
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Segment affected devices in isolated network zones with strict egress filtering
- Implement network-based intrusion detection to monitor for exploitation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check device firmware version against manufacturer's security bulletin. Look for patch WCNCR00406897 in installed updates.Check Version:
adb shell getprop ro.build.fingerprint (for Android devices)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify patch WCNCR00406897 is applied through device update history or firmware version check.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual wlan service crashes
- Suspicious memory access patterns in wlan logs
- Unexpected process spawning from wlan service
Network Indicators:
- Malformed wlan packets targeting MediaTek devices
- Unusual outbound connections from embedded devices
SIEM Query:
source="wlan_logs" AND ("out of bounds" OR "memory corruption" OR "service crash")