CVE-2025-48528 is a medium-severity elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting Google Android versions 15 and 16. The vulnerability arises from a tapjacking or overlay attack that allows an attacker to overlay biometric authentication prompts in multiple locations within the Android system. This overlay can trick the system or user interface into accepting unauthorized biometric inputs or bypassing biometric checks, leading to a local escalation of privilege. Notably, exploitation does not require any additional execution privileges, user interaction, or authentication, making it a stealthy and potentially impactful issue. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-266, which relates to improper privilege management. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.0, reflecting a medium severity primarily due to the local attack vector and limited confidentiality impact. The attack vector is local (AV:L), with low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is limited to confidentiality (C:L) with no integrity or availability impact. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability could allow malicious apps or local attackers to gain elevated privileges by manipulating biometric authentication overlays, potentially bypassing security controls that rely on biometrics for authentication or authorization within the Android OS.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to devices running Android versions 15 and 16, which may be used by employees or within enterprise environments. The ability to escalate privileges locally without user interaction could allow attackers to bypass biometric security controls, potentially accessing sensitive corporate data or internal applications protected by biometric authentication. This could undermine device security policies, especially in sectors relying heavily on mobile device security such as finance, healthcare, and government. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality impact could lead to unauthorized data access or leakage. Additionally, since exploitation requires local access, the threat is more relevant in scenarios where devices might be physically accessed or compromised by malicious insiders or malware already present on the device. The lack of user interaction requirement increases the risk of silent exploitation. Organizations with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies or those using Android devices for secure authentication should be particularly vigilant. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future exploitation.

European organizations should implement several specific mitigations beyond generic advice: 1) Ensure all Android devices are updated promptly once official patches for CVE-2025-48528 are released by Google. 2) Restrict installation of untrusted or third-party applications that could attempt to exploit overlay capabilities, using Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce app whitelisting or blacklisting. 3) Employ runtime protection tools that monitor and block suspicious overlay or tapjacking behaviors, especially those targeting biometric prompts. 4) Educate users about the risks of installing apps from unknown sources and the importance of device security hygiene. 5) For high-security environments, consider disabling biometric authentication temporarily or enforcing multi-factor authentication methods that do not rely solely on biometrics until patches are applied. 6) Monitor device logs and security alerts for unusual privilege escalation attempts or overlay activity. 7) Implement network segmentation and endpoint detection to limit lateral movement if a device is compromised. These targeted measures will reduce the attack surface and help detect or prevent exploitation of this vulnerability.