CVE-2026-20423
Published: 02 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20423 is a high-severity Exposed Dangerous Method or Function (CWE-749) vulnerability in Mediatek Nbiot Sdk. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 3.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly mandates timely identification, reporting, and patching of the out-of-bounds write flaw in the wlan STA driver as specified by Patch ID WCNCR00465314.
Requires validation and bounds checking of inputs to the wlan STA driver to prevent the missing bounds check that enables the out-of-bounds write.
Implements memory protections such as address space randomization and non-executable memory to mitigate exploitation of the out-of-bounds write for privilege escalation.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local out-of-bounds write in wlan driver directly enables privilege escalation from user to high privileges (T1068).
NVD Description
In wlan STA driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with User execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID:…
more
WCNCR00465314; Issue ID: MSV-4956.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-20423 is a vulnerability in the wlan STA driver that enables an out-of-bounds write due to a missing bounds check. This issue, tracked as Issue ID MSV-4956 and addressed by Patch ID WCNCR00465314, affects MediaTek components and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). It is associated with CWE-749 and CWE-787.
A local attacker with user execution privileges can exploit this vulnerability without requiring user interaction. Successful exploitation leads to escalation of privilege, potentially granting high-impact access to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
MediaTek's March 2026 Product Security Bulletin at https://corp.mediatek.com/product-security-bulletin/March-2026 provides details on mitigation, including the referenced patch WCNCR00465314. Security practitioners should apply vendor patches promptly to affected devices.
Details
- CWE(s)