CVE-2025-21427 is a high-severity buffer over-read vulnerability (CWE-126) found in various Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms and associated components. This vulnerability occurs during the decoding of RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) packet payloads when a User Equipment (UE) device receives RTP packets from the network. Specifically, the flaw allows an attacker to cause the device to read beyond the intended buffer boundaries while processing these RTP packets, leading to information disclosure. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Qualcomm Snapdragon products, including numerous mobile platforms (e.g., Snapdragon 8 Gen series, Snapdragon 7 series, Snapdragon 6 series), FastConnect wireless subsystems, automotive platforms, video collaboration platforms, robotics platforms, and various wireless connectivity chips. The CVSS v3.1 score is 8.2 (high), reflecting that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring privileges or user interaction. The impact is primarily on confidentiality, as sensitive information may be leaked due to the buffer over-read, while integrity is not affected and availability impact is low. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was reserved in December 2024 and published in July 2025, indicating recent discovery and disclosure. The root cause lies in improper bounds checking during RTP payload decoding, which is a critical function in real-time voice and video communications over IP networks. Given the ubiquity of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in mobile devices, IoT, automotive, and embedded systems, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to a wide array of devices that rely on RTP streaming for communication.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-21427 is substantial due to the widespread use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in smartphones, tablets, automotive infotainment systems, and IoT devices across the continent. Information disclosure through this vulnerability could lead to leakage of sensitive communication data, including voice and video streams, potentially exposing confidential business conversations, personal data, or proprietary information. This could undermine privacy compliance obligations under GDPR and other data protection regulations. Additionally, sectors such as automotive, healthcare, and critical infrastructure that utilize Snapdragon-based embedded platforms for communication may face risks of espionage or targeted data leaks. The vulnerability's remote exploitability without user interaction increases the threat surface, especially in environments with high network exposure or where RTP streams are common, such as VoIP services, video conferencing, and real-time collaboration tools. Although no integrity or availability impacts are noted, the confidentiality breach alone can have severe reputational and regulatory consequences for European enterprises and public sector entities.

Given the lack of currently available patches, European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Inventory and identify all devices using affected Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms, including mobile devices, embedded systems, and automotive components. 2) Prioritize firmware and software updates from device manufacturers and Qualcomm as soon as patches become available, ensuring rapid deployment especially in critical systems. 3) Employ network-level RTP traffic inspection and filtering to detect and block malformed or suspicious RTP packets that could trigger the vulnerability. 4) Use endpoint security solutions capable of monitoring anomalous RTP decoding behavior or memory access violations on affected devices. 5) For enterprise VoIP and video conferencing infrastructure, consider isolating RTP streams within secure, segmented networks to reduce exposure. 6) Educate users about the risks of connecting to untrusted networks where malicious RTP packets could be injected. 7) Collaborate with vendors to obtain timely security advisories and firmware updates. 8) For automotive and IoT deployments, implement network segmentation and strict access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable devices to external networks. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive device identification, network traffic controls, and vendor coordination tailored to the specific nature of this RTP decoding vulnerability.