VulnerabilityPublished 4 Sep 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-26420: Google Android · Elevation of Privilege

Affects Google AndroidSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.4 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.4Medium

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

EPSS: 0.08% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 0% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Sep 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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Google Android	Affected =14 =13	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-26420, organizations and users should: 1) Monitor for official security updates from Google and apply patches promptly once released for Android versions 13 and 14. 2) Implement strict application permission management policies, limiting app permissions to the minimum necessary and auditing granted permissions regularly. 3) Employ mobile device management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies and restrict installation of untrusted applications. 4) Use runtime monitoring tools to detect unusual permission changes or privilege escalations on devices. 5) Educate users about the risks of installing apps from untrusted sources and the importance of device security hygiene. 6) For high-security environments, consider restricting physical access to devices and employing endpoint protection solutions that can detect privilege escalation attempts. 7) Developers should review and harden permission grant logic in custom Android builds or applications to avoid similar permission overload issues. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive permission auditing, runtime monitoring, and controlled device management to reduce exploitation risk.

Description

In multiple functions of GrantPermissionsActivity.java , there is a possible way to trick the user into granting the incorrect permission due to permission overload. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-26420 is local elevation of privilege on affected Android devices, which can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of user data and system operations. Attackers with local access could exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized permissions, potentially allowing them to access sensitive information, modify system settings, or install malicious software with higher privileges. This could lead to further attacks such as data exfiltration, persistent malware installation, or disruption of device functionality. Organizations relying on Android devices for sensitive communications or operations may face increased risk of insider threats or malware leveraging this vulnerability. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect availability, the elevated privileges could be used to disrupt services or device stability. The absence of required user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is achieved, increasing the risk in environments where devices may be physically accessible or compromised by malicious applications.

CWE-281Improper Preservation of Permissions (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 01:13 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-281

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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