Ledger Uncovers MediaTek Chip Flaw Allowing Complete Takeover of Solana Phone and Other Devices

By Emir Abyazov

Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has discovered a critical vulnerability in the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chip, used in several popular smartphones including the Solana Seeker, a device marketed specifically to cryptocurrency users. According to Ledger’s research team, attackers can gain “complete and absolute control” over affected devices using electromagnetic pulses.

What if a hacker could gain total control of your smartphone, not via malware, but the hardware itself?

The @DonjonLedger discovered a potentially unpatchable flaw impacting MediaTek Dimensity 7300 – a popular Android phone SoC – enabling arbitrary code execution in minutes.… pic.twitter.com/JFHjc20D6f

— Charles Guillemet (@P3b7_) December 3, 2025

Security engineers Charles Christen and Leo Benito demonstrated a real-world attack on the MT6878 variant of the chip, bypassing all built-in security protections. By targeting the early boot stage, they were able to inject faults that compromise the device beyond repair.

The electromagnetic attack setup used by Ledger.

Why this vulnerability endangers crypto wallets

This flaw is especially dangerous for cryptocurrency users who store private keys on mobile devices. With full control of the phone, attackers can extract private keys and gain unrestricted access to victims’ wallets.

“There is simply no way to safely store and use one’s private keys on those devices,” Christen and Benito warned.

Because the vulnerability is embedded directly in the chip’s silicon design, it cannot be fixed with software updates or security patches. Even after public disclosure, affected users remain vulnerable.

Low probability per attempt, but high risk overall

The success rate of the electromagnetic fault-injection attack ranges from 0.1% to 1% per attempt. However, repeated retries make the attack essentially inevitable.

“We can try to inject a fault every 1 second or so (we repeatedly boot up the device, try to inject the fault, and if the fault does not succeed, we simply power up the SoC and repeat the process)”, the researchers explained.

With this method, a successful breach may take only a few minutes.

MediaTek’s response and broader security implications

MediaTek responded that electromagnetic attacks fall “outside the scope” of what the MT6878 chip is designed to withstand. The company emphasized that this chipset targets consumer devices rather than hardware security modules or financial-grade applications.

“Like many standard microcontroller circuits, the MT6878 chipset is designed for use in consumer products, not for applications such as finance or HSMs (Hardware Security Modules),” MediaTek said.

The company added that devices requiring robust hardware protection, such as dedicated crypto wallets, must include additional layers of physical defense.

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300, introduced in June 2024, powers mid-range 5G smartphones and integrates CPU, GPU, modem, memory controllers, and specialized processing units. 

However, Ledger’s findings show that even modern SoCs can contain fundamental vulnerabilities with serious real-world consequences.

Source:: Ledger Uncovers MediaTek Chip Flaw Allowing Complete Takeover of Solana Phone and Other Devices