CVE-2025-21459 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms and associated wireless connectivity components. The underlying issue is a CWE-126: Buffer Over-read, which occurs during the parsing of the per Station (STA) profile in the Multi-Link (ML) Information Element (IE). Specifically, this vulnerability arises when the affected Qualcomm firmware or software improperly handles input data related to the ML IE, leading to transient Denial of Service (DoS) conditions. Buffer over-read vulnerabilities occur when a program reads more data than the buffer allocated for it, potentially causing crashes or exposing sensitive memory contents. In this case, the impact is a transient DoS, meaning the device or component may temporarily become unresponsive or crash during the parsing process. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Qualcomm products, including numerous Snapdragon mobile platforms (e.g., Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Gen 3, and various other SoCs), FastConnect wireless subsystems, 5G modem-RF systems, video collaboration platforms, robotics platforms, and various wireless connectivity chips (WCD, WCN, WSA series). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5, indicating a high severity, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no confidentiality or integrity impact (C:N, I:N), but high availability impact (A:H). This means an unauthenticated attacker can remotely trigger the vulnerability without user interaction, causing a denial of service. No known exploits are reported in the wild yet, and no patches are linked at this time. The vulnerability was reserved in December 2024 and published in May 2025, indicating recent discovery and disclosure. The transient DoS could affect devices relying on Qualcomm wireless components for connectivity, including smartphones, IoT devices, automotive platforms, and robotics, potentially disrupting network availability and device functionality.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-21459 could be significant due to the widespread use of Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in mobile devices, IoT endpoints, automotive telematics, and industrial robotics. A transient DoS in wireless connectivity components can cause temporary loss of network access, disrupting business communications, remote operations, and critical IoT functions. Enterprises relying on mobile workforce devices or connected industrial equipment may experience service interruptions. In sectors such as automotive manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and smart city infrastructure, such disruptions could degrade operational efficiency and safety. Additionally, the vulnerability’s network-based attack vector means attackers could exploit it remotely, potentially targeting devices in corporate or public networks. Although no confidentiality or integrity impact is indicated, availability degradation can still cause operational downtime and loss of productivity. The lack of required privileges or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing risk. However, the transient nature of the DoS suggests the impact may be temporary rather than permanent device compromise. Still, repeated or coordinated exploitation could lead to sustained outages. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but organizations should prepare for potential future attacks as exploit code may emerge.

Given the broad range of affected Qualcomm products, mitigation should focus on a multi-layered approach: 1) Monitor Qualcomm’s official security advisories for patches or firmware updates addressing CVE-2025-21459 and apply them promptly once available. 2) For devices that cannot be immediately patched, implement network-level protections such as filtering or rate limiting of suspicious ML IE traffic to reduce exposure to malformed packets triggering the vulnerability. 3) Employ network segmentation to isolate critical systems and reduce attack surface from untrusted networks. 4) Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to monitor for unusual device crashes or connectivity disruptions indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Coordinate with device vendors and managed service providers to ensure timely updates and incident response readiness. 6) For organizations deploying Qualcomm-based IoT or industrial devices, conduct risk assessments to identify critical assets and implement compensating controls such as redundant connectivity paths or failover mechanisms to maintain availability during transient DoS events. 7) Educate IT and security teams about the vulnerability’s characteristics to improve detection and response capabilities. 8) Consider disabling or restricting features related to ML IE parsing if feasible and supported by device configuration to reduce attack vectors until patches are applied.