CVE-2022-25692 is a vulnerability identified in the modem components of various Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms, including Snapdragon Auto, Compute, Industrial IoT, Mobile, and Wearables. The issue arises from a reachable assertion failure during the processing of the common configuration procedure within the modem firmware. An assertion is a sanity check embedded in code to verify assumptions; if an assertion is reachable and can be triggered by crafted input, it may cause the system to halt or crash, leading to a denial of service (DoS). This vulnerability is classified under CWE-617, which refers to reachable assertions that can be triggered by external inputs. The affected Qualcomm chipsets span a wide range of products, including many popular mobile SoCs (e.g., SD 8 Gen1 5G, SD865 5G, SD888 5G), IoT and industrial modules (e.g., QCA6390, QCA6696), and wearable platforms (e.g., SDA429W, SM4375). The vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction to be exploited, as it is triggered during the modem's internal configuration processing. While no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability could be leveraged by an attacker capable of sending specially crafted signaling or configuration messages to the modem, potentially causing the device to crash or become unresponsive. This could disrupt cellular connectivity and related services, impacting device availability. Qualcomm has not published patches linked in the provided data, but the issue was reserved in early 2022 and publicly disclosed in December 2022. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity minimally but has a significant impact on availability due to the denial of service condition. The broad range of affected chipsets indicates a wide attack surface across multiple device categories that rely on Qualcomm modems for cellular connectivity.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-25692 primarily concerns operational disruption due to denial of service on devices using affected Qualcomm Snapdragon modems. This includes smartphones, automotive systems, industrial IoT devices, and wearable technology. In sectors such as automotive (connected cars), manufacturing (industrial IoT), and telecommunications, loss of modem functionality can interrupt critical communications, degrade service availability, and potentially halt production or safety systems. Enterprises relying on mobile connectivity for remote monitoring, telematics, or employee communications may experience outages or degraded performance. The vulnerability could be exploited remotely via cellular networks if attackers can send malformed configuration messages to modems, raising concerns for mobile network operators and service providers. Although no data leakage or privilege escalation is indicated, the denial of service could be leveraged as part of a broader attack to cause disruption or distract from other malicious activities. The impact is heightened in environments with high dependency on continuous connectivity, such as smart factories, connected vehicles, and emergency services. Given the diversity of affected platforms, organizations must assess their device inventories to identify vulnerable hardware and evaluate operational risks accordingly.

1. Inventory and Identification: Conduct thorough asset management to identify all devices using affected Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets across mobile, automotive, industrial IoT, and wearable categories. 2. Firmware and Software Updates: Monitor Qualcomm and device vendor advisories for patches or firmware updates addressing CVE-2022-25692. Apply updates promptly once available to remediate the vulnerability. 3. Network-Level Filtering: Collaborate with mobile network operators to implement filtering or anomaly detection for malformed signaling messages that could trigger the assertion failure, reducing exposure to remote exploitation. 4. Device Hardening: Where possible, configure devices to limit exposure to unsolicited or unauthenticated configuration messages, for example by disabling unnecessary modem features or interfaces. 5. Monitoring and Incident Response: Implement monitoring for modem crashes, unexpected reboots, or loss of connectivity that could indicate exploitation attempts. Prepare incident response plans to quickly isolate and remediate affected devices. 6. Vendor Engagement: Engage with device manufacturers and Qualcomm to obtain detailed technical guidance and timelines for patches. 7. Segmentation and Redundancy: In critical environments (e.g., industrial control systems, automotive), design network and system architectures with redundancy and segmentation to minimize impact of device outages caused by modem failures. 8. Awareness and Training: Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability and its potential operational impact to ensure timely detection and response.