CVE-2022-25749 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in a wide range of Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms, including Snapdragon Auto, Compute, Connectivity, Consumer Electronics Connectivity, Consumer IoT, Industrial IoT, IoT, Mobile, Voice & Music, Wearables, and Wired Infrastructure and Networking products. The vulnerability arises from a buffer over-read condition in the WLAN component when parsing Multicast DNS (mDNS) frames. Specifically, the flaw is a CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) type, where the WLAN driver or firmware improperly handles mDNS packets, leading to reading beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. This can cause transient denial-of-service (DoS) conditions by crashing or destabilizing the WLAN subsystem. The affected Snapdragon chipsets and modules span a very broad range of Qualcomm’s product portfolio, including many popular mobile SoCs (e.g., SD 8 Gen1 5G, SD 888, SD 865 5G), IoT modules, automotive platforms, and connectivity chips. The vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction, as it can be triggered remotely by sending specially crafted mDNS frames over the wireless network. There are no known exploits in the wild as of the published date (October 19, 2022), and Qualcomm has not provided public patches or mitigation instructions yet. The vulnerability’s root cause is in the WLAN firmware or driver’s parsing logic, which fails to validate the length or structure of mDNS frames properly, leading to buffer over-read and potential system instability or crashes. This transient DoS could disrupt wireless connectivity on affected devices, impacting availability of network services.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-25749 could be significant due to the widespread use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in mobile devices, IoT endpoints, automotive systems, and networking equipment. A successful exploitation could cause temporary denial of wireless connectivity, affecting critical business operations relying on Wi-Fi or other wireless communications. Industries such as automotive manufacturing, smart city infrastructure, healthcare IoT deployments, and mobile workforce operations could experience service interruptions. The transient DoS may also degrade user productivity and cause operational delays. Although the vulnerability does not appear to enable code execution or data leakage, the loss of availability in wireless communication channels can have cascading effects on industrial control systems and connected devices prevalent in European smart factories and enterprises. Given the broad chipset coverage, many consumer and enterprise devices in Europe are potentially vulnerable, increasing the attack surface. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the ease of triggering the vulnerability remotely without authentication means attackers could leverage this flaw in targeted denial-of-service campaigns or as part of multi-stage attacks.

1. Monitor Qualcomm and device vendor advisories closely for official patches or firmware updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 2. Implement network segmentation to isolate critical wireless devices and IoT endpoints, limiting exposure to untrusted wireless networks. 3. Employ wireless intrusion detection and prevention systems (WIDS/WIPS) capable of detecting anomalous or malformed mDNS traffic patterns to block potential exploit attempts. 4. Restrict or filter mDNS traffic on enterprise wireless networks where possible, especially from untrusted or guest devices, to reduce attack vectors. 5. For automotive and industrial IoT deployments, enforce strict network access controls and consider disabling unnecessary multicast services if feasible. 6. Maintain up-to-date asset inventories to identify devices using affected Qualcomm chipsets and prioritize their remediation. 7. Educate network administrators and security teams about this vulnerability to increase awareness and readiness to respond to related incidents. 8. Consider deploying endpoint protection solutions that can detect and mitigate WLAN subsystem crashes or anomalies indicative of exploitation attempts.