VulnerabilityPublished 6 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-21452: Qualcomm Snapdragon · Reachable Assertion

Affects Qualcomm SnapdragonSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 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 10% 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 6 Aug 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 26 Oct 2026.

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

Given the lack of available patches at this time, European organizations should implement several practical mitigations: 1) Collaborate with device vendors and mobile network operators to prioritize firmware and software updates addressing this vulnerability as soon as patches become available. 2) Monitor network traffic for anomalous or malformed RAR messages that could indicate exploitation attempts, leveraging advanced LTE protocol analysis tools. 3) Employ network-level filtering or intrusion prevention systems (IPS) capable of detecting and blocking malformed LTE signaling messages if supported by operator infrastructure. 4) For critical deployments, consider fallback or redundancy strategies such as multi-SIM devices or dual connectivity (e.g., LTE + Wi-Fi) to maintain service continuity during transient DoS events. 5) Educate IT and security teams about the symptoms of this DoS condition to enable rapid incident response and device recovery. 6) Engage with mobile network operators to understand their mitigation strategies and coordinate on threat intelligence sharing. 7) For IoT and embedded systems using affected chipsets, evaluate the feasibility of network segmentation and limiting exposure to untrusted LTE networks. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on network-level detection, vendor coordination, and operational continuity planning tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.

Description

Transient DOS while processing a random-access response (RAR) with an invalid PDU length on LTE network.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a considerable risk due to the widespread use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in smartphones, IoT devices, automotive telematics, and industrial equipment. Disruption of LTE connectivity can affect business operations relying on mobile data, including remote work, field services, and critical infrastructure monitoring. The transient DoS could lead to temporary loss of cellular service, impacting voice and data communications. In sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and emergency services, even brief connectivity interruptions can have severe consequences. Additionally, the vulnerability could be exploited to cause targeted service disruptions in high-value environments, such as corporate campuses or smart city deployments. The lack of confidentiality and integrity impact reduces the risk of data breaches, but availability degradation remains a critical concern. As LTE networks are still widely used across Europe, especially in areas with limited 5G coverage, the threat surface remains significant. The absence of known exploits in the wild provides some mitigation time, but the ease of exploitation and broad product impact necessitate urgent attention.

CWE-617Reachable Assertion (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
Implementation
Make sensitive open/close operation non reachable by directly user-controlled data (e.g. open/close resources)
Implementation · Input Validation
Perform input validation on user data.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Aug 2025, 08:07 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-617

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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