CVE-2026-20508 in MT2718
Summary
by MITRE • 09/07/2026
In Power HAL, there is a possible escalation of privilege due to type confusion. This could lead to local escalation of privilege if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS11165543; Issue ID: MSV-9012.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/07/2026
The vulnerability identified under issue identifier MSV-9012 and addressed by patch ALPS11165543 resides within the Power Hardware Abstraction Layer, a critical component of Android-based operating systems that manages power-related hardware interactions such as battery monitoring, charging states, and system sleep modes. This specific flaw is classified as a type confusion error, which occurs when software incorrectly assumes or treats data of one type as another incompatible type during execution. In the context of C++ based systems like Power HAL, this typically involves improper handling of object pointers where an instance expected to be of a derived class is treated as its base class, or vice versa, leading to memory corruption or unexpected behavior when methods are invoked on misidentified objects.
The technical root cause lies in the failure of the runtime type checking mechanisms within the Power HAL implementation. When processing power management requests from higher-level system services, the code path fails to validate that an incoming object pointer actually matches the expected class hierarchy before casting it and invoking virtual functions or accessing member variables specific to a different class structure. This logical flaw allows for memory corruption because the layout of objects in memory differs between classes; accessing members based on incorrect type assumptions results in reading from or writing to unintended memory locations, potentially overwriting critical control data such as return addresses or function pointers within the process space.
Although exploitation requires an attacker to already possess System privileges, this scenario represents a significant security boundary violation and constitutes a local escalation of privilege vulnerability. In Android architecture, while the system server runs with elevated permissions compared to standard applications, it is still sandboxed relative to root access. By exploiting this type confusion, an attacker operating within the context of the system process can manipulate memory structures to execute arbitrary code or gain control over kernel-level operations if the Power HAL interacts directly with driver interfaces that are not fully isolated. This effectively bypasses the intended privilege separation between user-space services and lower-level hardware drivers, allowing for further compromise of device integrity beyond what is normally permitted by the System UID restrictions.
From a threat modeling perspective aligned with industry standards, this vulnerability maps to CWE-843: Accessing Memory with Incorrectly Referenced Pointer or CWE-1096: Incorrect Declaration of Function Parameters if the issue stems from API misuse within the HAL implementation. It also aligns with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1055: Process Injection or T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, specifically in scenarios where an attacker leverages existing high-privilege processes to escalate their own access level further into kernel space or gain persistent control over system-critical components. The lack of user interaction required for exploitation means that once the prerequisite System privilege is obtained through a separate initial vector such as another application vulnerability or configuration error, this flaw can be triggered automatically by background services without any direct engagement from the device owner.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying the vendor-provided patch ALPS11165543 which corrects the type checking logic within the Power HAL source code to ensure strict validation of object types before casting or method invocation. Developers should implement robust runtime type information checks and utilize smart pointers with proper polymorphic handling to prevent accidental misinterpretation of data structures. Additionally, enforcing stricter sandboxing policies for system services that interact directly with hardware abstraction layers can limit the blast radius if such vulnerabilities are present in future builds. Regular static analysis scanning focused on C++ memory safety issues and dynamic fuzz testing targeting power management interfaces will help identify similar type confusion flaws before they reach production environments, ensuring adherence to secure coding practices mandated by modern mobile OS security frameworks.