CVE-2020-0069
CVE-2020-0069 is a security flaw in MediaTek Multiple Chipsets. Someone who already has a foothold can use MediaTek Multiple Chipsets to take full control of the machine. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 3 Nov 2021.[1]
MediaTek Multiple Chipsets is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. MediaTek has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it an insufficient input validation in MediaTek Multiple Chipsets. In its words: “Multiple MediaTek chipsets contain an insufficient input validation vulnerability and have missing SELinux restrictions in the Command Queue drivers ioctl handlers. This causes an out-of-bounds write leading to privilege escalation. This vulnerability was observed chained with CVE-2019-2215 and CVE-2020-0041 under exploit chain "AbstractEmu."”[1]
The CVE record adds: “In the ioctl handlers of the Mediatek Command Queue driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to insufficient input sanitization and missing SELinux restrictions. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.Product: AndroidVersions: Android kernelAndroid ID: A-147882143References: M-ALPS04356754”[2]
The underlying weakness is out-of-bounds write (CWE-787), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 7.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; MediaTek’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as MediaTek Multiple Chipsets.
Every device with MediaTek Multiple Chipsets needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 3 Nov 2021, 603 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 3 May 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 1%. That’s in the top 29% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
MediaTek has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]
- Update MediaTek Multiple Chipsets now.Install the latest update from MediaTek on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 7.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 1%.[4] |
See also
Other out-of-bounds write flaws
- CVE-2026-86950, Apple devices: out-of-bounds write ·
- CVE-2026-53266, Linux Kernel: out-of-bounds write ·
- CVE-2026-87491, Chrome and other Chromium browsers: out of bounds write ·
- CVE-2026-53362, Linux Kernel: unspecified ·
- CVE-2022-0995, Linux Kernel: out-of-bounds write ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2021-42258, BQE BillQuick Web Suite: SQL injection ·
- CVE-2021-42013, Apache HTTP Server: path traversal ·
- CVE-2021-41773, Apache HTTP Server: path traversal ·
- CVE-2021-40539, Zoho ManageEngine: aDSelfService plus authentication bypass ·
- CVE-2021-40444, Microsoft MSHTML: remote code execution ·
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Mediatek Multiple Chipsets Insufficient Input Validation Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 3 Nov 2021.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2020-0069 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 10 Mar 2020.
- ^ MediaTek. Advisories and fixes: source.android.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.014, percentile 71.9, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2020-0069”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.