MediaTek MAE Use-After-Free Leads to Local DoS (CVE-2026-20437)
CVE-2026-20437 Published on March 2, 2026

In MAE, there is a possible system crash due to use after free. This could lead to local denial of service if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS10431940; Issue ID: MSV-5843.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-20437 can be exploited with local system access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.

Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
HIGH
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Weakness Type

What is a Dangling pointer Vulnerability?

Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code.

CVE-2026-20437 has been classified to as a Dangling pointer vulnerability or weakness.


Affected Versions

MediaTek, Inc. MT2718, MT6899, MT6991, MT8678, MT8793 Version Android 15.0 is affected by CVE-2026-20437

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.01%
Percentile
0.26%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.