CVE-2025-27043: Qualcomm Ar8035 Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-27043 Overview

CVE-2025-27043 is a memory corruption vulnerability affecting a broad range of Qualcomm chipsets and firmware components. The flaw resides in video firmware and is triggered when the firmware processes a manipulated payload. A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this issue to corrupt memory, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service on the affected component. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input). Qualcomm published the issue as part of its July 2025 security bulletin.

Critical Impact
Local exploitation of manipulated payloads in video firmware can corrupt memory across Snapdragon mobile, automotive, compute, and networking platforms, threatening confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected devices.

Affected Products

Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platforms including Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2/3, 888, 695 5G, 480 5G, 460, and 4 Gen 1 firmware
Qualcomm automotive and compute platforms including SA8775P, SA8650P, SA8295P, QCS9100, and QAM8295P firmware
Qualcomm connectivity, audio, and networking silicon including FastConnect 6200/6700/6900/7800, WCN6xxx/WCN7xxx, WCD93xx, and IPQ80xx firmware

Discovery Timeline

2025-07-08 - CVE-2025-27043 published to NVD
July 2025 - Qualcomm publishes fix guidance in the Qualcomm July 2025 Security Bulletin
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27043

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Qualcomm video firmware and is triggered when the firmware parses a manipulated payload. Improper validation of input size or structure allows the payload processing routine to write beyond the bounds of a fixed-length buffer. This memory corruption can overwrite adjacent firmware structures, function pointers, or control data.

Exploitation requires local access and low privileges, with no user interaction. A successful attack can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the targeted firmware component. Because video firmware runs at a privileged layer of the System-on-Chip (SoC), corruption can extend beyond the video subsystem to other components sharing the same trust boundary.

Root Cause

The root cause is a classic buffer copy without checking the size of input, tracked as CWE-120. The video firmware trusts fields in an attacker-controlled payload and copies data into fixed-size buffers without enforcing length constraints. When a crafted payload exceeds the expected size, the copy operation corrupts adjacent memory.

Attack Vector

An attacker with local, low-privileged access on an affected device sends a crafted payload to the video firmware interface. This can occur through a compromised or malicious application on the host operating system that interacts with the video processing subsystem. No user interaction is required to trigger the corruption once the payload reaches the vulnerable parser.

Exploitation code is not publicly available. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Refer to the Qualcomm July 2025 Security Bulletin for vendor-supplied technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27043

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected crashes, panics, or reboots of the video subsystem or SoC-level services on affected Qualcomm devices
Kernel or firmware log entries referencing faults in video firmware payload handlers
Applications with no legitimate video processing purpose making calls to video firmware interfaces

Detection Strategies

Monitor device firmware versions against fix levels listed in the Qualcomm July 2025 Security Bulletin to identify unpatched endpoints
Inspect application behavior for unauthorized interaction with video codec or firmware IOCTL interfaces on Android and embedded Linux systems
Correlate repeated video subsystem crashes with process activity to identify potential exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest device logs and crash telemetry into a centralized platform to identify anomalous video firmware faults across the fleet
Track OEM firmware release levels for all Qualcomm-based endpoints, including mobile, automotive, IoT, and networking assets
Alert on installation of untrusted applications on Snapdragon devices that request access to media or firmware interfaces

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27043

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the firmware updates provided by Qualcomm and downstream Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as referenced in the Qualcomm July 2025 Security Bulletin
Inventory all Qualcomm chipsets in the environment against the affected products list and prioritize patching for high-value or exposed devices
Restrict installation of untrusted applications on affected devices, particularly those requesting access to video or media subsystems

Patch Information

Qualcomm addressed CVE-2025-27043 in its July 2025 security bulletin. Fixes are delivered to device manufacturers, who ship them through OEM firmware updates. Consult the Qualcomm July 2025 Security Bulletin for the specific components and versions containing the fix, and check with each OEM for device-level availability.

Workarounds

No official workarounds are documented by the vendor; installing the OEM firmware update is the authoritative remediation
Reduce local attack surface by enforcing application allowlisting and limiting sideloading on affected mobile and embedded devices
Segment IoT, automotive, and networking devices built on affected Qualcomm platforms to constrain the reach of a local compromise

bash

# Example: verify Android security patch level on a Qualcomm-based device
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
adb shell getprop ro.vendor.build.security_patch