A newly discovered Android vulnerability is raising serious concerns after researchers demonstrated how attackers could unlock sensitive data from affected devices in under a minute.

According to findings reported by security researchers, the flaw impacts Android smartphones using specific MediaTek chipsets combined with Trustonic’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). By exploiting weaknesses in the device’s boot process, attackers can bypass core security protections and extract critical data. (Dagens.com)

The attack works by connecting a powered-off phone to a computer via USB, allowing hackers to retrieve encryption keys before the Android operating system fully loads. With these keys, attackers can decrypt stored data and even recover the device’s PIN through brute-force methods. (Dagens.com)

Researchers demonstrated that this technique can expose highly sensitive information, including messages, photos, and even cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases. In testing scenarios, the exploit successfully bypassed traditional protections like full-disk encryption and lock screen security—features typically relied upon when a device is lost or stolen. (Malwarebytes)

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-20435, could affect roughly a quarter of Android devices worldwide due to the widespread use of impacted hardware. (Dagens.com)

Although the attack requires physical access to the device, experts warn that it significantly weakens trust in smartphone security, especially for users storing financial or sensitive personal data on their phones. The research highlights a critical issue: even advanced mobile security features may fail under certain hardware-level attacks. (Malwarebytes)

MediaTek has already released fixes to manufacturers, but users must rely on device makers to roll out updates. Security experts strongly recommend installing the latest Android updates as soon as they become available to mitigate the risk. (Dagens.com)