CVE-2025-32100 Overview
CVE-2025-32100 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability affecting a broad range of Samsung Exynos mobile processors, wearable processors, and modem chipsets. The flaw resides in the baseband firmware's handling of Robust Header Compression (ROHC) packets. A programming mistake in a buffer copy operation allows a malformed ROHC packet to write beyond the intended destination buffer. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-125 and is network-reachable without authentication or user interaction.
Critical Impact
A remote attacker able to inject malformed ROHC packets into the cellular data path can trigger out-of-bounds memory writes in the modem, potentially corrupting baseband memory and compromising confidentiality and integrity of modem operations.
Affected Products
- Samsung Exynos Mobile Processors: 980, 990, 850, 1080, 2100, 1280, 2200, 1330, 1380, 1480, 2400, 1580
- Samsung Exynos Wearable Processors: 9110, W920, W930, W1000
- Samsung Modems: 5123, 5300, 5400
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-09-02 - CVE-2025-32100 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-32100
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability affects the ROHC packet handling code in the Exynos baseband firmware. ROHC is a compression protocol defined in RFC 5795 used to reduce header overhead for IP, UDP, RTP, and TCP flows over cellular links. Baseband stacks decompress ROHC packets before passing reconstructed IP payloads to the application processor.
The flaw stems from an incorrect buffer copy routine that fails to validate length fields inside a crafted ROHC packet against the destination buffer size. When the modem receives a malformed packet, the copy operation writes past the end of the target buffer. This corrupts adjacent memory structures within the modem's runtime heap or stack.
Because the vulnerable code executes inside the isolated baseband processor, successful exploitation affects modem state rather than the Android or wearable OS directly. However, baseband memory corruption can still lead to information disclosure and integrity violations on cellular traffic.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing bounds checking on attacker-controlled length values parsed from ROHC packet headers. The buffer copy operation trusts the packet-supplied size instead of clamping it to the fixed destination buffer size. This classic input validation failure results in an out-of-bounds write, tracked under CWE-125.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires the attacker to deliver a crafted ROHC packet to a targeted device. This can be achieved through a rogue or compromised base station, an IMSI-catcher performing a man-in-the-middle attack against the cellular link, or a malicious peer on a network segment where ROHC is negotiated. No user interaction and no credentials on the device are required. The attacker must be positioned to inject traffic into the cellular bearer of the target device.
No public proof-of-concept exploit is available at the time of publication, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-32100
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexplained modem crashes, radio resets, or cbd/rild restarts on affected Exynos devices.
- Kernel or ramoops logs referencing baseband exceptions during active data sessions.
- Devices repeatedly attaching to unfamiliar or non-carrier cell IDs immediately before modem instability.
Detection Strategies
- Collect and analyze modem crash dumps (modem_ramdump, cp_crash) from managed fleets to identify recurring faults consistent with heap or stack corruption.
- Monitor Mobile Device Management (MDM) telemetry for firmware build strings matching vulnerable Exynos and Modem 5xxx revisions.
- Correlate cellular attachment logs with anomalous base station identifiers or unexpected ROHC context negotiations.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable enterprise MDM inventory reporting to track Exynos chipset models and baseband firmware versions across the device estate.
- Ingest device health and crash telemetry into a centralized log platform for anomaly detection on modem subsystems.
- Establish alerts for repeated baseband resets on the same device within short time windows, which may indicate exploitation attempts.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-32100
Immediate Actions Required
- Inventory all mobile and wearable devices using the affected Exynos processors and Samsung Modem 5123, 5300, and 5400 chipsets.
- Apply the vendor firmware update referenced in the Samsung CVE-2025-32100 Advisory as soon as the OEM makes it available for each device model.
- Prioritize patching for high-risk users such as executives and administrators who may be targeted by adversaries capable of operating rogue base stations.
Patch Information
Samsung has published a security advisory for this issue on its semiconductor product security page. Fixes are distributed as baseband firmware updates bundled into device OEM security patch levels. Refer to the Samsung Product Security Updates portal for the current list of remediated firmware versions and downstream OEM patch schedules.
Workarounds
- Where operationally acceptable, disable 2G/legacy fallback and enforce authenticated 5G SA connectivity to reduce exposure to rogue base station attacks that deliver malformed ROHC traffic.
- Restrict use of untrusted cellular networks for sensitive roles, and prefer Wi-Fi with VPN until firmware updates are applied.
- Use MDM policies to enforce minimum baseband and security patch levels on managed devices, blocking access to corporate resources for non-compliant handsets.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
