CVE-2026-20584 in MT6739
Summary
by MITRE • 11/02/2026
In usb, there is a possible memory corruption due to a missing bounds check. 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: ALPS11411916; Issue ID: MSV-9746.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2026
The vulnerability identified under issue identifier MSV-9746 and addressed by patch ALPS11411916 represents a critical memory safety flaw within the Universal Serial Bus subsystem of the operating system. This defect is characterized as a missing bounds check, which falls squarely under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-125, specifically Out-of-bounds Read. In technical terms, this indicates that when processing USB device descriptors or data packets, the software fails to validate whether the requested memory access lies within the allocated buffer boundaries. Consequently, if an attacker can supply a specially crafted USB descriptor or packet with manipulated length fields, the system may read from or write to memory locations adjacent to the intended buffer. This lack of validation allows for unauthorized memory operations that compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the kernel's address space.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to its potential for local privilege escalation. Although exploitation requires an attacker to already possess System privileges, which typically implies a high level of access or control over the system environment, the existence of such a flaw in core subsystems like USB handling poses severe risks. In many enterprise and server environments, services running with elevated permissions may interact directly with hardware interfaces for management purposes. If these services are compromised through other vectors, this memory corruption vulnerability provides an additional pathway to further destabilize the kernel or manipulate critical system structures. The fact that user interaction is not required means that once a malicious actor has established foothold at the System level, they can trigger the exploit automatically without needing physical presence or social engineering tactics to interact with the interface, making it suitable for automated post-exploitation tools designed to maintain persistence or escalate control further within isolated environments.
From an offensive security perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques observed in advanced persistent threat campaigns where attackers leverage kernel-level flaws to bypass user-mode protections. It relates closely to ATT&CK technique T1055, specifically Process Injection via Kernel APIs, as memory corruption in the USB stack can be used to inject malicious code into privileged processes or modify kernel structures like access control lists or security tokens. The absence of bounds checking is a classic precursor to buffer overflow attacks, which are frequently utilized to execute arbitrary code with high privileges. Even if direct code execution is not immediately achieved through this specific flaw alone, the ability to corrupt memory can lead to denial-of-service conditions by crashing the kernel, thereby disrupting critical business operations that rely on stable hardware connectivity and system uptime.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve applying the vendor-provided patch ALPS11411916 as soon as it becomes available in official update channels. Since exploitation requires prior System-level access, organizations should focus heavily on hardening their perimeter defenses to prevent initial compromise that could lead to such elevated privileges. Implementing strict device control policies via endpoint detection and response solutions can limit the types of USB devices allowed to connect to sensitive systems, thereby reducing the attack surface for any potential abuse of this flaw. Additionally, enabling kernel memory protection features such as Kernel Patch Protection or Data Execution Prevention ensures that even if an attacker attempts to exploit the memory corruption to execute shellcode, the operating system will prevent the execution of code in non-executable memory regions. Regular auditing of USB device connections and monitoring for anomalous behavior in system logs can also aid in detecting attempted exploitation activities before they result in full compromise.