Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2026-20515: MediaTek GPU use after free leading to system crash

CVE-2026-20515 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2026-09-07

Technologies: MediaTek MT6988, MediaTek MT8883, MediaTek MT8873, MediaTek MT8676, MediaTek MT8755, MediaTek MT8863, MediaTek Mt6878, MediaTek Mt6991, MediaTek MT6993, MediaTek Mt6982vb, MediaTek Mt6897, MediaTek MT8792, MediaTek Mt6835, MediaTek MT8775, MediaTek Mt6986, MediaTek Mt8668, MediaTek Mt6881, MediaTek MT6858, MediaTek Mt8793, MediaTek Mt6899, MediaTek MT8678. Vendors: MediaTek.

Executive brief

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in MediaTek's GPU processing component, which handles graphics rendering on mobile and IoT devices. An attacker with local access and user-level privileges could trigger a system crash and potentially disclose sensitive information from memory, but user interaction is required for successful exploitation.

Technical details

The vulnerability is a use-after-free flaw in the GPU driver component affecting multiple MediaTek chipsets. The root cause involves memory management where freed GPU memory objects are accessed after deallocation, potentially leading to system crashes and local information disclosure. Exploitation requires local access with user-level execution privileges and user interaction. An attacker can trigger the flaw to crash the system or leak sensitive data from freed memory regions. MediaTek has released security patches (Patch ID: ALPS11122991) and notified device OEMs at least two months prior to public disclosure; patches should be available through device manufacturers.

Affected products

  • MediaTek MT6835 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6858 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6878 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6881 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6897 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6899 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6982VB Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6986 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6988 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6991 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT6993 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8668 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8676 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8678 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8755 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8775 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8792 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8793 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8863 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8873 Unspecified
  • MediaTek MT8883 Unspecified

Timeline

  • 2026-09-07: disclosed: Publicly disclosed via MediaTek Product Security Bulletin
  • 2026-07-07: patched: Patch available at least two months before disclosure (Patch ID: ALPS11122991)

References

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