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Security researchers broke into a MediaTek-powered Nothing phone in just 45 seconds

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Why This Matters

The discovery of a critical security vulnerability in MediaTek-powered Android phones highlights the ongoing risks of hardware-level exploits, especially for millions of users with sensitive data like crypto wallets. This breach demonstrates the importance of timely security updates and the need for manufacturers to strengthen device security at the hardware level to protect consumer data. The incident underscores the potential for sophisticated attacks that bypass traditional software defenses, emphasizing the urgency for industry-wide security improvements.

Key Takeaways

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

TL;DR Security researchers from Ledger’s Donjon team discovered a vulnerability in MediaTek-powered Android phones that allowed them to break into the CMF Phone 1 by Nothing in just 45 seconds.

The exploit reportedly worked without even booting Android, allowing the researchers to recover the phone’s PIN, decrypt its storage, and extract crypto wallet data.

MediaTek says it issued a fix to device makers in January 2026, but the flaw could potentially affect millions of Android devices.

Security researchers have discovered a serious vulnerability in MediaTek-powered Android phones that could allow attackers to extract sensitive user data even when the device is powered off.

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The flaw was uncovered by Donjon, the hardware security research team run by crypto hardware wallet company Ledger. According to Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet’s posts on X, the vulnerability could affect millions of Android devices with MediaTek processors that use Trustonic’s Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).

Guillemet said the team used the CMF Phone 1 by Nothing to demonstrate the exploit and managed to gain access to the phone’s protected data in less than a minute.

“The Ledger Donjon plugged a CMF Phone 1 into a laptop and breached the phone’s foundational security within 45 seconds,” he wrote.

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