CVE-2025-21449VulnerabilityPublished 8 Jul 2025

CVE-2025-21449: Qualcomm Snapdragon · Buffer Over-read

Affects Qualcomm SnapdragonSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 15% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 8 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-21449 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Monitor Qualcomm’s official advisories and promptly apply firmware and software updates once patches become available, as no patches are currently linked. 2) Implement network-level filtering to detect and block malformed SSID IEs or suspicious Wi-Fi management frames using advanced intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) capable of deep packet inspection for wireless protocols. 3) Segment wireless networks to isolate critical devices and reduce exposure to potentially malicious Wi-Fi traffic, limiting the attack surface. 4) Employ device management solutions to inventory and track all Qualcomm Snapdragon-based devices, ensuring rapid identification and remediation of vulnerable endpoints. 5) For automotive and industrial deployments, coordinate with vendors to schedule maintenance windows for firmware updates and consider fallback communication methods to maintain operational continuity during remediation. 6) Educate IT and security teams about the nature of the vulnerability to recognize symptoms of transient DoS and respond quickly to device outages. 7) Where feasible, disable or limit Wi-Fi scanning or connectivity features on devices that do not require them, reducing exposure to malformed SSID IE attacks. These measures go beyond generic patching advice by emphasizing network-level controls, asset management, and operational continuity planning tailored to the diverse environments where Snapdragon platforms are deployed.

Description

Transient DOS may occur while processing malformed length field in SSID IEs.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-21449 can be significant, especially for those relying heavily on Qualcomm Snapdragon-based devices and infrastructure. Since Snapdragon platforms are widely used in smartphones, IoT devices, automotive systems, and wireless communication modules, a successful exploitation could lead to temporary service disruptions. This transient DoS could affect critical communication devices, IoT sensors, automotive control units, and enterprise mobile devices, leading to operational downtime, loss of productivity, and potential safety risks in automotive or industrial environments. The disruption of wireless connectivity could also impact remote work scenarios, smart building controls, and other network-dependent services. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the availability impact alone can cause cascading effects in environments where continuous connectivity is essential. European sectors such as telecommunications, automotive manufacturing, healthcare, and critical infrastructure could face challenges if devices become unresponsive or reboot unexpectedly. Moreover, the widespread deployment of affected Snapdragon platforms across consumer and enterprise devices in Europe increases the attack surface and potential for targeted disruption campaigns.

CWE-126Buffer Over-read (opens in a new tab)
Variant weakness
The product reads from a buffer using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations after the targeted buffer.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/july-2025-bulletin.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 13:14 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-126

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats