CVE-2025-47380: Sensors IOCTL Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-47380 Overview

CVE-2025-47380 is a memory corruption vulnerability that occurs during the preprocessing of IOCTLs (Input/Output Control) operations in sensor components. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-822 (Untrusted Pointer Dereference), indicating that the flaw involves improper handling of pointer operations that could allow an attacker with local access to corrupt memory and potentially execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges.

Critical Impact

Local attackers with low-privilege access can exploit this memory corruption vulnerability to achieve high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems.

Affected Products

• Qualcomm sensor components (specific chipsets detailed in vendor security bulletin)
• Devices utilizing affected Qualcomm sensor drivers
• Systems running vulnerable firmware versions

Discovery Timeline

• January 7, 2026 - CVE-2025-47380 published to NVD
• January 8, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-47380

Vulnerability Analysis

This memory corruption vulnerability exists in the IOCTL preprocessing logic within Qualcomm sensor drivers. IOCTL (Input/Output Control) is a system call used for device-specific operations that cannot be expressed through standard read/write operations. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of pointers during IOCTL preprocessing, which can lead to an untrusted pointer dereference condition.

When processing IOCTL requests, the affected sensor component fails to properly validate pointer references before use. This allows an attacker with local access and low privileges to craft malicious IOCTL requests that trigger memory corruption. The attack requires no user interaction and operates with low complexity, making it a practical target for local privilege escalation attacks.

Root Cause

The root cause is classified as CWE-822 (Untrusted Pointer Dereference). The sensor driver code improperly trusts pointer values provided during IOCTL preprocessing without adequate validation. This allows attackers to supply crafted pointer values that, when dereferenced by the kernel, result in memory corruption. The lack of proper bounds checking and pointer validation in the IOCTL handler creates the conditions for exploitation.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local, meaning an attacker must have local access to the target system. The exploitation scenario involves:

1. Initial Access: Attacker gains local access to a device with vulnerable Qualcomm sensor drivers, potentially through a malicious application or compromised user account
2. IOCTL Crafting: The attacker crafts a malicious IOCTL request with specially constructed pointer values targeting the sensor driver
3. Memory Corruption Trigger: When the sensor driver preprocesses the malicious IOCTL, the untrusted pointer dereference occurs, corrupting memory
4. Privilege Escalation: The memory corruption can be leveraged to gain elevated privileges, execute arbitrary code in kernel context, or cause denial of service

The vulnerability manifests during IOCTL preprocessing in sensor components. For detailed technical specifications and affected chipset models, refer to the Qualcomm January 2026 Security Bulletin.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47380

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual IOCTL system calls targeting sensor device nodes (e.g., /dev/sensors/*)
• Kernel crash logs or panic events related to sensor driver memory access violations
• Unexpected privilege escalation events from low-privilege processes
• Anomalous sensor driver behavior or repeated driver restarts

Detection Strategies

• Monitor system logs for kernel oops or memory corruption errors in sensor driver modules
• Implement behavioral analysis to detect processes making unusual IOCTL calls to sensor devices
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of monitoring kernel-level driver interactions
• Use SentinelOne Singularity Platform to detect privilege escalation attempts and suspicious driver activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable kernel auditing for IOCTL operations on sensor device files
• Configure alerts for sensor driver crashes or abnormal terminations
• Implement memory corruption detection mechanisms at the kernel level
• Monitor for processes attempting to access sensor device nodes with unexpected patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47380

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the security patches referenced in the Qualcomm January 2026 Security Bulletin immediately
• Audit systems to identify devices running vulnerable Qualcomm sensor firmware
• Restrict local access to high-risk systems until patches can be applied
• Review application permissions to limit unnecessary access to sensor device interfaces

Patch Information

Qualcomm has released patches addressing this vulnerability in their January 2026 Security Bulletin. Organizations should obtain updated firmware from their device manufacturers that incorporate these fixes. The patch addresses the improper pointer handling in the IOCTL preprocessing logic by implementing proper validation and bounds checking before pointer dereference operations.

For complete patch details and affected chipset information, review the Qualcomm January 2026 Security Bulletin.

Workarounds

• Limit local user access to systems with vulnerable sensor drivers where possible
• Implement application sandboxing to restrict access to sensor device nodes
• Deploy runtime security monitoring to detect and block exploitation attempts
• Consider disabling non-essential sensor functionality until patches are applied
• Use mandatory access control (MAC) policies to restrict which processes can interact with sensor drivers

# Configuration example - Restrict sensor device access
# Add restrictive permissions to sensor device nodes
chmod 600 /dev/sensors/*
chown root:root /dev/sensors/*

# Implement SELinux/AppArmor policies to limit sensor access
# Example SELinux context restriction
semanage fcontext -a -t device_t "/dev/sensors(/.*)?"
restorecon -R /dev/sensors/