CVE-2025-54601: Samsung Exynos Race Condition Vulnerability

CVE-2025-54601 Overview

A double free vulnerability has been discovered in the Wi-Fi driver of Samsung Exynos mobile and wearable processors. The vulnerability (CWE-362) stems from improper synchronization on a global variable, which allows an attacker with local access to trigger a race condition by invoking an ioctl function concurrently from multiple threads. Successful exploitation could lead to memory corruption and potentially allow an attacker to achieve high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected device.

Critical Impact

Local attacker with low privileges can exploit race condition in Wi-Fi driver to cause double free, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system compromise on Samsung Exynos-powered mobile devices and wearables.

Affected Products

• Samsung Exynos 980 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 850 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1080 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1280 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1330 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1380 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1480 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos 1580 (Mobile Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos W920 (Wearable Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos W930 (Wearable Processor and Firmware)
• Samsung Exynos W1000 (Wearable Processor and Firmware)

Discovery Timeline

• April 6, 2026 - CVE-2025-54601 published to NVD
• April 7, 2026 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54601

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability exists within the Wi-Fi driver implementation across multiple Samsung Exynos processor families, affecting both mobile and wearable devices. The core issue is a race condition vulnerability (CWE-362) that occurs due to improper synchronization when accessing a global variable within the driver. When multiple threads concurrently invoke specific ioctl functions, the lack of proper locking mechanisms creates a window where the same memory region can be freed twice—a classic double free condition.

Double free vulnerabilities in kernel drivers are particularly dangerous as they can corrupt the kernel heap allocator's metadata. This corruption can be leveraged by skilled attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges. The local attack vector requires the attacker to already have low-privileged access to the device, but the high complexity of exploitation is due to the precise timing required to win the race condition.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in the improper synchronization of a global variable used by the Wi-Fi driver's ioctl handler. When the driver receives concurrent ioctl requests from multiple threads, there is no adequate mutex or spinlock protection around the memory deallocation operations. This allows a scenario where:

1. Thread A begins freeing a memory buffer associated with the global variable
2. Thread B, before Thread A completes, also attempts to free the same buffer
3. The second free operation corrupts the heap allocator's free list structures

The absence of atomic operations or proper locking primitives around critical sections handling memory management is the fundamental synchronization flaw.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access to the device with low-level privileges sufficient to invoke ioctl calls on the Wi-Fi driver. An attacker would need to:

1. Identify the vulnerable ioctl command that accesses the improperly synchronized global variable
2. Spawn multiple threads that simultaneously invoke this ioctl function
3. Precisely time the concurrent calls to trigger the race condition
4. Leverage the resulting heap corruption for further exploitation

While the attack complexity is high due to the timing precision required, successful exploitation could grant the attacker elevated privileges or the ability to execute arbitrary code in the kernel context. The vulnerability mechanism involves concurrent ioctl invocations against the Wi-Fi driver's global variable handling. Attackers must carefully time multi-threaded requests to win the race condition and trigger the double free. For detailed technical information, refer to the Samsung CVE-2025-54601 Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54601

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected kernel panics or system crashes related to Wi-Fi driver operations
• Memory corruption errors in kernel logs referencing the Wi-Fi subsystem
• Unusual multi-threaded ioctl activity patterns targeting Wi-Fi driver interfaces
• Heap corruption signatures in kernel memory debugging output

Detection Strategies

• Monitor kernel logs for double free detection messages or heap corruption warnings
• Implement kernel-level monitoring for abnormal ioctl call patterns to Wi-Fi device nodes
• Deploy memory safety tools capable of detecting use-after-free and double free conditions on test devices
• Analyze process behavior for applications spawning multiple threads with concurrent Wi-Fi driver interactions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose kernel logging for the Wi-Fi subsystem on affected Exynos devices
• Implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to monitor device health and detect anomalous behavior
• Configure alerts for kernel oops or panic events related to memory management
• Utilize SentinelOne Singularity Mobile for real-time threat detection and behavioral analysis on Android devices

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54601

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply firmware updates from Samsung as soon as they become available for affected Exynos processors
• Limit installation of untrusted applications that could potentially exploit this local vulnerability
• Implement application sandboxing and least-privilege policies on enterprise mobile devices
• Monitor Samsung's security advisory portal for patch release announcements

Patch Information

Samsung has acknowledged this vulnerability and released security information. Organizations should check the Samsung Semiconductor Security Updates page for the latest firmware updates addressing CVE-2025-54601. Device manufacturers using affected Exynos processors should coordinate with Samsung to obtain and distribute patched firmware to end users.

Workarounds

• Restrict application permissions to minimize exposure to potentially malicious code that could exploit this vulnerability
• Use Mobile Threat Defense solutions to detect and block exploitation attempts
• Disable Wi-Fi functionality temporarily on critical devices if patch deployment is delayed (note: significant operational impact)
• Implement strict app vetting policies to prevent installation of untrusted applications

# Android device administrators can verify firmware version
# Check current Exynos firmware version via ADB
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch
adb shell cat /proc/version
# Ensure devices are enrolled in automatic security update policies
# through Samsung Knox or enterprise MDM solutions