CVE-2025-47390: Qualcomm Qcm5430 Buffer Overflow Flaw

CVE-2025-47390 Overview

CVE-2025-47390 is a memory corruption vulnerability affecting multiple Qualcomm chipset firmware components. The vulnerability exists in the JPEG driver's preprocessing of IOCTL requests, where improper input validation can lead to a buffer over-read condition (CWE-126). A local attacker with low privileges could exploit this vulnerability to achieve code execution, read sensitive memory contents, or cause a denial of service condition on affected devices.

Critical Impact

Local privilege escalation and potential arbitrary code execution on devices powered by affected Qualcomm chipsets, including Snapdragon compute platforms, audio codecs, and wireless connectivity modules.

Affected Products

• Qualcomm QCM5430 and QCM6490 Firmware
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3 and 8cx Gen 3 Compute Platforms
• Qualcomm SC8380XP and Video Collaboration VC3 Platform
• Qualcomm FastConnect 6700, 6900, and 7800 Firmware
• Qualcomm WCD9370, WCD9375, WCD9378C, WCD9380, WCD9385 Audio Codec Firmware
• Qualcomm WSA8830, WSA8835, WSA8840, WSA8845, WSA8845H Speaker Amplifier Firmware
• Qualcomm Cologne Platform Firmware

Discovery Timeline

• April 6, 2026 - CVE-2025-47390 published to NVD
• April 8, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-47390

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-126 (Buffer Over-read), which occurs when the JPEG driver reads data beyond the boundaries of the allocated buffer during IOCTL request preprocessing. The vulnerability requires local access to the system, meaning an attacker would need to have already established a presence on the device—either through physical access or another vulnerability that provides local code execution capabilities.

The impact of successful exploitation is significant: an attacker could achieve full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected device. Memory corruption vulnerabilities in kernel-mode drivers like this JPEG driver are particularly dangerous because they operate at a privileged level, meaning successful exploitation could allow an attacker to escalate privileges from a low-privileged user context to kernel-level access.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-47390 lies in insufficient bounds checking within the JPEG driver when processing IOCTL (Input/Output Control) requests. When an IOCTL request is received, the driver's preprocessing routine fails to properly validate the length or boundaries of input data before reading from memory buffers. This allows a maliciously crafted IOCTL request to trigger a read operation that extends beyond the intended buffer boundaries, exposing adjacent memory contents or corrupting critical data structures.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is local, requiring an attacker to have local access to a system running affected Qualcomm firmware. Exploitation would typically involve:

1. An attacker gains initial access to a device through a malicious application or another vulnerability
2. The attacker crafts a malicious IOCTL request targeting the vulnerable JPEG driver
3. The malformed request is sent to the driver, triggering the buffer over-read condition
4. Depending on the exploitation technique, the attacker could leak sensitive kernel memory, corrupt memory structures to achieve code execution, or crash the system

The vulnerability mechanism involves sending specially crafted IOCTL requests to the JPEG driver interface. When the driver preprocesses these requests, inadequate validation of buffer boundaries allows read operations to exceed allocated memory regions. This can expose sensitive data from adjacent memory or corrupt control structures. For detailed technical information, refer to the Qualcomm April 2026 Security Bulletin.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47390

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected system crashes or kernel panics related to JPEG driver operations
• Anomalous IOCTL calls to JPEG driver interfaces from non-standard processes
• Memory access violations or segmentation faults in driver-related system logs
• Unusual process behavior attempting to interact with graphics or media subsystems

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for abnormal IOCTL patterns targeting JPEG or media driver interfaces using kernel tracing tools
• Implement driver-level monitoring to detect malformed IOCTL request parameters
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying memory corruption exploitation attempts
• Audit application permissions to identify unauthorized access to driver interfaces

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose kernel logging for driver operations on critical systems
• Configure security monitoring solutions to alert on driver crash events or memory violations
• Implement application whitelisting to restrict which processes can communicate with JPEG driver interfaces
• Regularly review system logs for patterns consistent with exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47390

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply firmware updates from device OEMs that incorporate the Qualcomm security patches
• Restrict local access to affected devices to only trusted users and applications
• Implement application sandboxing to limit the ability of untrusted code to interact with kernel drivers
• Enable all available security features on affected devices, including SELinux enforcement on Android systems

Patch Information

Qualcomm has addressed this vulnerability in their April 2026 Security Bulletin. Device manufacturers and OEMs should integrate the updated firmware packages into their products. End users should check with their device manufacturers for firmware updates that address this vulnerability. The official security advisory is available at the Qualcomm April 2026 Security Bulletin.

Workarounds

• Limit installation of untrusted applications that could attempt to exploit the vulnerability
• Enable mandatory access control policies (SELinux, AppArmor) to restrict driver access
• Where possible, disable or restrict access to the affected JPEG driver components until patches can be applied
• Implement defense-in-depth strategies including kernel hardening and exploit mitigation technologies

# Example: Checking SELinux enforcement status on Android/Linux systems
getenforce
# Ensure SELinux is in Enforcing mode
setenforce 1