CVE-2025-36896: Google Android WLAN Privilege Escalation

CVE-2025-36896 Overview

CVE-2025-36896 is a critical elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting the WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) component in Android on Google Pixel devices. This flaw, tracked internally by Google as A-394765106, allows attackers to potentially escalate privileges through the wireless networking subsystem, compromising device security and user data.

Critical Impact
This vulnerability enables privilege escalation through the WLAN component, potentially allowing attackers to gain elevated system access on affected Google Pixel devices without user interaction.

Affected Products

Google Android on Pixel devices (versions prior to September 5, 2025 security patch)
Google Pixel smartphone lineup with unpatched WLAN firmware
Android devices running vulnerable WLAN driver components

Discovery Timeline

September 4, 2025 - CVE-2025-36896 published to NVD
September 5, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-36896

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability resides within the WLAN subsystem of Android on Google Pixel devices. The flaw is classified under CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), indicating a fundamental issue with how privileges are assigned, managed, or verified within the wireless networking component.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over a network without requiring authentication or user interaction. Successful exploitation grants an attacker complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target device. This makes it particularly dangerous in environments where Pixel devices connect to untrusted wireless networks.

The improper privilege management within the WLAN component could allow an attacker to execute operations with elevated system privileges, potentially bypassing Android's security model and gaining unauthorized access to protected resources, sensitive data, or system-level functionality.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper privilege management (CWE-269) within the WLAN driver or firmware component. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when the wireless networking subsystem fails to properly validate or restrict privilege levels during certain operations, allowing a low-privileged or unauthenticated context to perform actions that should require elevated permissions.

In mobile device WLAN implementations, this often manifests in driver code that processes wireless frames or management operations without adequate privilege checks, or in firmware that exposes privileged functionality through improperly secured interfaces.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable via the network attack vector with low attack complexity. An attacker does not require any privileges on the target system, nor is user interaction needed to trigger the exploit. This makes it a particularly severe threat, as exploitation can occur passively when a vulnerable Pixel device is within wireless range of an attacker-controlled access point or malicious network traffic.

Attack scenarios may include:

Crafted wireless management frames targeting the vulnerable WLAN component
Exploitation through rogue access points or man-in-the-middle positioning
Remote network-based attacks triggering the privilege escalation condition

Due to the network-accessible nature of this vulnerability, affected devices are at risk when connected to any wireless network where an attacker can inject or manipulate traffic.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-36896

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual WLAN driver crashes or system instability following wireless network connections
Unexpected privilege escalation events logged in Android system logs
Anomalous network traffic patterns originating from the WLAN interface
System processes running with elevated privileges without corresponding user actions

Detection Strategies

Monitor Android system logs for WLAN-related error messages and crash reports
Implement network-level monitoring to detect anomalous wireless traffic patterns
Track security patch levels across managed Pixel device fleets to identify vulnerable systems
Use mobile device management (MDM) solutions to verify devices are running the September 2025 security patch

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on mobile device management platforms for Pixel devices
Monitor for unexpected application installations or permission changes following network connections
Implement wireless intrusion detection systems (WIDS) in enterprise environments
Regularly audit device security patch compliance against the September 5, 2025 baseline

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-36896

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the Android security patch dated September 5, 2025 or later to all affected Pixel devices immediately
Disable Wi-Fi on vulnerable devices until patches can be applied in high-risk environments
Avoid connecting vulnerable Pixel devices to untrusted or public wireless networks
Enable automatic security updates on all managed Pixel devices to ensure timely patch deployment

Patch Information

Google has addressed this vulnerability in the Android Security Bulletin September 2025 for Pixel devices. The security patch level 2025-09-05 or later includes the fix for CVE-2025-36896 (A-394765106). Device administrators should verify that all Pixel devices in their environment have been updated to this patch level or higher.

Users can check their security patch level by navigating to Settings > About phone > Android security patch level. The displayed date should be 2025-09-05 or later to confirm protection against this vulnerability.

Workarounds

Temporarily disable Wi-Fi connectivity on vulnerable devices until the security patch can be applied
Use mobile data connections instead of Wi-Fi in untrusted environments
Implement network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices from potentially hostile wireless traffic
Consider using enterprise VPN solutions to add an additional layer of protection for network communications

bash

# Verify Android security patch level via ADB
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
# Expected output: 2025-09-05 or later