CVE-2025-27033VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2025

CVE-2025-27033: Qualcomm Snapdragon · Buffer Over-read

Affects Qualcomm SnapdragonSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.1 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.1Medium

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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L

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

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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 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 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

Mitigation should focus on a multi-layered approach: 1) Firmware Integrity: Implement strict firmware validation and signing mechanisms to prevent rogue firmware installation. Organizations should ensure that devices only run authenticated and vendor-approved firmware versions. 2) Device Management: Maintain an inventory of devices using affected Snapdragon chipsets and monitor for firmware updates from Qualcomm or device manufacturers. 3) Access Controls: Restrict local access to devices, especially in sensitive environments, to reduce the risk of privilege escalation and rogue firmware deployment. 4) Patch Management: Although no patches are currently linked, organizations should prioritize applying any forthcoming security updates from Qualcomm or OEMs as soon as they become available. 5) Network Segmentation: Isolate critical devices to limit the impact of potential local exploits and reduce the attack surface. 6) Monitoring and Detection: Deploy anomaly detection systems to identify unusual firmware behavior or unauthorized firmware changes. 7) Supply Chain Security: Verify the integrity of devices and firmware during procurement to prevent introduction of compromised hardware or software. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by emphasizing firmware integrity and local access restrictions, which are critical given the nature of this vulnerability.

Description

Information disclosure while running video usecase having rogue firmware.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-27033 could be significant, especially for sectors relying heavily on mobile communications, IoT devices, and embedded systems powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. Information disclosure could lead to leakage of sensitive corporate or personal data processed or stored on affected devices. This is particularly concerning for industries such as telecommunications, finance, healthcare, and government agencies where confidentiality is paramount. The requirement for local access and rogue firmware presence limits remote exploitation but raises concerns about insider threats or supply chain compromises where malicious firmware could be introduced. Additionally, devices used in critical infrastructure or secure communications that incorporate these chipsets might be at risk of data leakage, undermining trust and compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR. The broad range of affected chipsets means that many consumer and enterprise devices in Europe could be vulnerable, potentially impacting mobile workforce devices, embedded systems in industrial environments, and connected consumer electronics.

Summary

CVE-2025-27033 is a medium severity vulnerability identified in multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, including models such as QCM5430, QCS6490, SM8650, and several others widely used in mobile and embedded devices. The vulnerability is classified as CWE-126, indicating a buffer over-read condition. Specifically, this flaw occurs during video use cases when rogue firmware is present, leading to information disclosure. A buffer over-read happens when a program reads more data than the buffer it has allocated, potentially leaking sensitive information from adjacent memory. In this context, the vulnerability allows an attacker with limited privileges (local access with low complexity) to cause the Snapdragon chipset to leak confidential data without requiring user interaction. The CVSS 3.1 score of 6.1 reflects a medium severity, primarily due to the local attack vector and the need for some privileges, but with a high impact on confidentiality. The vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability significantly. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The affected Snapdragon versions span a broad range of Qualcomm’s product portfolio, including both mobile SoCs and connectivity modules, indicating a wide potential impact across devices using these chipsets. The flaw’s exploitation requires the presence of rogue firmware, implying that attackers must first compromise the device’s firmware environment to trigger the vulnerability during video processing operations.

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/september-2025-bulletin.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Oct 2025, 01:07 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-126

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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