CVE-2025-48548: Google Android Race Condition Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48548 Overview

CVE-2025-48548 is a race condition vulnerability in the Android operating system, specifically within multiple functions of AppOpsControllerImpl.java. The flaw allows an application to record audio without triggering the privacy indicator that normally alerts users to microphone use. Google addressed the issue in the Android Security Bulletin September 2025. The vulnerability affects Android 13, 14, and 15. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction, but successful abuse enables local privilege escalation and covert audio capture.

Critical Impact
An application with basic user-level execution privileges can capture microphone audio without displaying the mandatory Android privacy indicator, defeating a core user-facing privacy control.

Affected Products

Google Android 13
Google Android 14
Google Android 15

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-04 - CVE-2025-48548 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2025-09-01 - Google publishes fix in the Android Security Bulletin (September 2025)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48548

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in AppOpsControllerImpl.java, the Android component responsible for tracking application operations and driving user-facing privacy indicators. Android displays a green microphone or camera indicator in the status bar whenever an app accesses sensitive sensors. This indicator is fed by app-op state transitions handled inside AppOpsControllerImpl.

Because several functions in this class mutate shared state without adequate synchronization, an attacker can win a race that suppresses the indicator while audio recording proceeds. The flaw is classified as a concurrency defect under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization.

The result is a privacy control bypass with confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the affected privileges. Because access to audio without the indicator is not the intended behavior for any user-installed app, the outcome is treated as a local privilege escalation.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient locking around app-op state transitions in AppOpsControllerImpl. When two threads update or query the recording state concurrently, the code path that would ordinarily raise the microphone indicator can be skipped while the code path that grants the operation still completes. This time-of-check to time-of-use style race leaves the recording active while the UI reports no active sensor use.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is local and requires low privileges plus user interaction. A malicious application installed on the device must be launched or interacted with by the user. The app then repeatedly toggles audio recording operations to trigger the race window in AppOpsControllerImpl. Once the race is won, the app records microphone audio without the green privacy chip appearing, and without the microphone entry in the Privacy Dashboard reflecting real-time use.

Because the attack requires only standard runtime microphone permission, users who grant microphone access to what appears to be a legitimate app have no visual signal that recording is occurring. See the Android platform commits (37e7f80, 8c09eb1, and acbd37d2) for the technical fixes.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48548

Indicators of Compromise

Applications that hold the RECORD_AUDIO runtime permission but whose foreground service or recent activity does not correlate with the microphone appearing in the Privacy Dashboard.
Discrepancies between appops command output showing recent RECORD_AUDIO operations and the absence of corresponding entries in Android's privacy indicator history.
Installed packages sourced from outside Google Play or unknown developers requesting microphone access without a clear voice-related feature.

Detection Strategies

Enroll Android fleets in a mobile threat defense or MDM solution that inventories runtime permission grants and flags apps with unnecessary microphone access.
Correlate RECORD_AUDIO app-op events from dumpsys appops against on-device user activity to identify recording sessions that lack a visible indicator.
Track the Android security patch level of managed devices and alert on any device still on a pre-September 2025 security patch level (ro.build.version.security_patch earlier than 2025-09-01).

Monitoring Recommendations

Continuously monitor patch compliance across the mobile fleet and prioritize devices that have not received the September 2025 or later Android security bulletin update.
Ingest MDM and mobile threat telemetry into the SOC data platform to correlate microphone-permission grants with app reputation and install source.
Review new app installations on privileged users' devices (executives, developers, engineers with source access) for microphone-permission requests inconsistent with app functionality.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48548

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the Android security patch level 2025-09-01 or later on all managed devices running Android 13, 14, or 15.
Audit installed applications on high-risk devices and revoke RECORD_AUDIO permission from any app that does not require it.
Instruct users to install updates as soon as they are offered by the device vendor and to avoid sideloading applications while patches are pending.

Patch Information

Google fixed CVE-2025-48548 in the Android Security Bulletin, September 2025. The upstream fixes land in the AOSP frameworks/base and frameworks/av projects across five commits (00344da6, 20e363e2, acbd37d2, 37e7f80, and 8c09eb1). Device manufacturers ship the fix as part of the September 2025 monthly security patch level.

Workarounds

Disable microphone access at the OS level through Quick Settings when the microphone is not actively required.
Restrict installation to Google Play and enforce Play Protect on managed devices via MDM policy.
Use per-app permission auto-revoke and require justification workflows before granting RECORD_AUDIO to newly installed applications.