CVE-2025-20746
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in the GNSS service allows an attacker with System privilege to perform an out-of-bounds write, potentially leading to local privilege escalation. It affects devices using MediaTek chipsets with vulnerable GNSS service implementations. No user interaction is required for exploitation.
💻 Affected Systems
- MediaTek chipset devices with GNSS service
📦 What is this software?
Android by Google
Android by Google
Openwrt by Openwrt
Openwrt by Openwrt
Rdk B by Rdkcentral
Yocto by Linuxfoundation
Zephyr by Zephyrproject
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through local privilege escalation to kernel or root access, enabling persistent malware installation, data theft, or device takeover.
Likely Case
Local attacker with initial System access escalates privileges to execute arbitrary code with higher permissions, potentially bypassing security controls.
If Mitigated
With proper privilege separation and SELinux/app sandboxing, impact limited to GNSS service context without full system compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires System privilege for initial foothold; exploitation involves memory corruption techniques
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply patch ALPS10010441
Vendor Advisory: https://corp.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/November-2025
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check device uses MediaTek chipset with GNSS service
2. Contact device manufacturer for firmware update
3. Apply patch ALPS10010441
4. Reboot device
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable GNSS service if unused
androidTemporarily disable GNSS service to prevent exploitation
adb shell pm disable com.mediatek.gnssservice
adb shell stop gnss_service
Restrict System privilege access
allImplement strict access controls for System-privileged processes
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict SELinux policies to contain GNSS service
- Monitor for suspicious privilege escalation attempts from System processes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if device uses MediaTek chipset and has GNSS service running: adb shell ps | grep gnssCheck Version:
adb shell getprop ro.build.fingerprintVerify Fix Applied:
Verify patch ALPS10010441 is applied in system updates and GNSS service version is updated📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected GNSS service crashes
- Privilege escalation attempts from System processes
- Memory corruption errors in system logs
Network Indicators:
- None - local exploitation only
SIEM Query:
source="android_system" AND (process="gnss_service" AND (event="crash" OR event="privilege_escalation"))