CVE-2025-47374 Overview
CVE-2025-47374 is a Use After Free (CWE-416) memory corruption vulnerability affecting multiple Qualcomm firmware products. The vulnerability occurs when accessing freed memory due to a race condition between concurrent fence deregistration and signal handling operations. This type of memory safety issue can lead to unpredictable behavior, system instability, and potential security compromise on affected devices.
Critical Impact
Local attackers with low privileges can exploit this use-after-free condition to potentially achieve code execution or cause system crashes on affected Qualcomm chipsets, impacting a wide range of connectivity, audio, and extended reality (XR) hardware platforms.
Affected Products
- Qualcomm FastConnect 6900/7800 Firmware
- Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 Platform and AR1+ Gen 1 Platform Firmware
- Qualcomm SXR2230P, SXR2250P, SXR2330P, SXR2350P Firmware
- Qualcomm WCN7860, WCN7861 Firmware
- Qualcomm WCD9380, WCD9385 Audio Codec Firmware
- Qualcomm WSA8830, WSA8832, WSA8835 Smart Amplifier Firmware
- Qualcomm QXM1083, QXM1086, QXM1093, QXM1094, QXM1095, QXM1096 Firmware
- Qualcomm XRV7209, XRV9209 Extended Reality Firmware
- Qualcomm QLN1083BD, QLN1086BD, QPA1083BD, QPA1086BD Firmware
- Qualcomm SAR1165P, SAR2130P, Pandeiro Firmware
Discovery Timeline
- April 6, 2026 - CVE-2025-47374 published to NVD
- April 8, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-47374
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability is classified as a Use After Free (UAF) condition, a dangerous class of memory corruption bugs. The flaw exists in the synchronization mechanisms within Qualcomm firmware that manage fence objects—data structures commonly used for coordinating resource access between concurrent operations in graphics, compute, and inter-processor communication subsystems.
When a fence object is being deregistered (freed) while a concurrent signal handler attempts to access the same memory region, the race condition allows the signal handler to reference memory that has already been released. This creates an opportunity for an attacker to manipulate the freed memory contents before the dangling reference is accessed.
The local attack vector with high complexity indicates that successful exploitation requires the attacker to win a race condition, but once achieved, the impact includes potential compromise of both integrity and availability of the affected system.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper synchronization between the fence deregistration routine and signal handling pathways. The firmware fails to implement adequate locking or atomic operations to ensure that fence objects are not accessed after being freed. This TOCTOU (Time-of-Check Time-of-Use) style vulnerability allows a window where:
- Thread A initiates fence deregistration and frees the associated memory
- Thread B (signal handler) retains a stale reference to the fence object
- Thread B accesses the freed memory, triggering undefined behavior
The absence of proper memory barriers, reference counting, or lock-based synchronization creates this exploitable condition.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires local access to the affected device with low-privilege user permissions. An attacker would need to:
- Identify processes or services that interact with fence objects on affected Qualcomm hardware
- Trigger concurrent operations that cause fence deregistration while maintaining signal handler activity
- Win the race condition to achieve the use-after-free condition
- Potentially spray controlled data into the freed memory region before it is accessed by the signal handler
- Redirect execution flow or corrupt critical data structures
The vulnerability requires precise timing and understanding of the target system's memory layout, making exploitation complex but feasible for determined attackers with local access.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47374
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected system crashes or kernel panics on devices with affected Qualcomm chipsets
- Memory access violation errors in system logs related to fence or signal handling subsystems
- Abnormal behavior in graphics, connectivity, or audio subsystems that utilize affected firmware
- Evidence of memory corruption patterns in crash dumps or core files
Detection Strategies
- Monitor kernel logs for use-after-free or invalid memory access errors related to Qualcomm driver components
- Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying memory corruption exploitation attempts
- Implement firmware integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to Qualcomm firmware images
- Use hardware-assisted memory safety features where available to detect UAF conditions
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging for Qualcomm firmware components on critical systems
- Configure alerting for repeated crashes or restarts of services interfacing with affected hardware
- Implement baseline monitoring for normal fence operation patterns to detect anomalous activity
- Deploy SentinelOne agents on endpoints with affected Qualcomm hardware for real-time behavioral analysis
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47374
Immediate Actions Required
- Review the Qualcomm April 2026 Security Bulletin for specific patch availability
- Inventory all devices utilizing affected Qualcomm chipsets including FastConnect, Snapdragon AR, SXR, WCN, WCD, WSA, and XRV series
- Prioritize firmware updates for devices in high-risk environments or with local access exposure
- Limit local access to affected systems until patches are applied
- Monitor Qualcomm and device manufacturer channels for firmware update releases
Patch Information
Qualcomm has disclosed this vulnerability in their April 2026 Security Bulletin. Organizations should contact their device manufacturers or OEMs for specific firmware update packages applicable to their hardware. Given the wide range of affected products spanning connectivity modules, audio codecs, smart amplifiers, and extended reality platforms, patch distribution timelines may vary by manufacturer.
Review the official Qualcomm Security Bulletin for detailed remediation guidance and firmware version information.
Workarounds
- Restrict local access to affected devices to trusted users only until firmware patches are available
- Disable or limit functionality of affected subsystems where operationally feasible
- Implement application-level sandboxing to contain potential exploitation impact
- Monitor affected systems closely for signs of exploitation attempts or unusual behavior
- Consider network segmentation for IoT and embedded devices with affected Qualcomm chipsets
# Example: Check firmware version on Android devices with affected Qualcomm chipsets
adb shell getprop ro.board.platform
adb shell cat /sys/devices/soc0/chip_name
adb shell cat /vendor/firmware/version.txt
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
