CVE-2025-3067: Google Chrome Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-3067 Overview

CVE-2025-3067 is a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Google Chrome on Android devices. The flaw stems from an inappropriate implementation in the Custom Tabs feature, which allows a remote attacker to escalate privileges through a crafted application when a user is convinced to perform specific UI gestures.

Custom Tabs is an Android feature that allows applications to open web content in a browser tab customized to their app's look and feel. The vulnerability enables malicious applications to abuse this functionality to gain elevated privileges beyond their intended scope, potentially compromising user data and device security.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can achieve privilege escalation on Android devices by exploiting improper implementation in Chrome's Custom Tabs feature, requiring only user interaction with specific UI gestures.

Affected Products

• Google Chrome on Android prior to version 135.0.7049.52
• Google Android devices running vulnerable Chrome versions
• Applications utilizing Chrome Custom Tabs functionality

Discovery Timeline

• April 2, 2025 - CVE-2025-3067 published to NVD
• September 8, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-3067

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents an inappropriate implementation flaw within the Custom Tabs component of Google Chrome on Android. The security issue allows attackers to craft malicious applications that can manipulate user interactions with Chrome's Custom Tabs interface to achieve unauthorized privilege escalation.

The attack requires user interaction in the form of specific UI gestures, which can be achieved through social engineering or UI redressing techniques. Once a user is tricked into performing these gestures within a malicious app context, the attacker can leverage the improper implementation to gain elevated privileges on the device.

The vulnerability can result in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, allowing attackers to potentially access sensitive data, modify system settings, or disrupt device functionality.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in an inappropriate implementation within the Custom Tabs feature that fails to properly validate or restrict certain privileged operations when handling inter-application communication and UI gesture sequences. This implementation flaw creates a pathway for privilege escalation when malicious applications interact with the Custom Tabs API in unexpected ways.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring an attacker to deliver a crafted malicious application to the target device. The attack flow typically involves:

1. The attacker creates a malicious Android application that integrates with Chrome Custom Tabs
2. The victim installs or interacts with the malicious application
3. The application presents UI elements designed to trick the user into performing specific gestures
4. These gestures trigger the vulnerability in Chrome's Custom Tabs implementation
5. The attacker achieves privilege escalation, gaining access to resources beyond the application's normal permissions

The attack requires user interaction but no special privileges, making it accessible to any attacker who can distribute a malicious application.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-3067

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual Custom Tabs activity from unknown or recently installed applications
• Chrome browser processes exhibiting unexpected privilege escalation behavior
• Applications requesting atypical permissions after Chrome Custom Tabs interactions
• Suspicious inter-process communication patterns involving Chrome on Android devices

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for applications with unusual Custom Tabs implementation patterns that deviate from standard usage
• Implement behavioral analysis to detect UI gesture manipulation attempts
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying privilege escalation attempts on Android devices
• Review installed applications for suspicious Chrome Custom Tabs integrations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable enhanced logging for Chrome browser activity on managed Android devices
• Monitor application installation events for potentially malicious apps
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect communication with known malicious infrastructure
• Configure alerts for unusual privilege changes following browser interactions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-3067

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Google Chrome on all Android devices to version 135.0.7049.52 or later immediately
• Review and remove any suspicious or recently installed applications that may exploit this vulnerability
• Educate users about the risks of interacting with unfamiliar applications and UI prompts
• Enable automatic updates for Google Chrome to ensure timely patching

Patch Information

Google has addressed this vulnerability in Chrome version 135.0.7049.52 and later releases. The fix resolves the inappropriate implementation in Custom Tabs that allowed privilege escalation. Organizations should prioritize deployment of this update across all managed Android devices.

For detailed release information, refer to the Google Chrome Releases Blog. Additional technical details can be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker.

Workarounds

• Restrict installation of applications from untrusted sources until Chrome is updated
• Consider temporarily disabling Chrome Custom Tabs functionality through enterprise policy management if available
• Implement mobile device management (MDM) policies to control application installations
• Use browser isolation solutions to limit exposure to potentially malicious web content

# Verify Chrome version on Android via ADB
adb shell dumpsys package com.android.chrome | grep versionName
# Expected output: versionName=135.0.7049.52 or higher