CVE-2025-54601: Samsung Exynos Race Condition Vulnerability

CVE-2025-54601 Overview

CVE-2025-54601 is a race condition vulnerability in the Wi-Fi driver shipped with multiple Samsung Exynos Mobile and Wearable Processors. The flaw stems from improper synchronization on a global variable, which leads to a double free condition. An attacker with local access can trigger the race by invoking an ioctl function concurrently from multiple threads. Successful exploitation can corrupt kernel heap structures, enabling denial of service or potential privilege escalation on affected devices.

Critical Impact

Concurrent ioctl invocations against the Wi-Fi driver can free the same global pointer twice, corrupting kernel memory and impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability on affected Exynos-based devices.

Affected Products

• Samsung Exynos Mobile Processors: 980, 850, 1080, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580
• Samsung Wearable Processors: W920, W930, W1000
• Wi-Fi driver firmware shipped with the listed Exynos processors

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-06 - CVE-2025-54601 published to NVD
• 2026-04-07 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54601

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the Wi-Fi driver supplied with multiple Samsung Exynos processors. The driver uses a global variable that is read and freed without adequate synchronization primitives. When two or more threads issue overlapping ioctl calls into the driver, both code paths can observe the same valid pointer and proceed to free it. The second free operates on already-released kernel memory, corrupting allocator metadata. This class of issue is tracked under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization. The condition requires local access and successful timing of the race, which raises attack complexity but does not prevent exploitation by a malicious application running on the device.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of locking around access to a shared global pointer in the Wi-Fi driver. Two or more execution contexts can pass the same null-check and release path, resulting in a double free of the same allocation.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local code execution with low privileges, such as an unprivileged application on the device. The attacker spawns multiple threads that repeatedly invoke the vulnerable ioctl handler against the Wi-Fi driver device node. Winning the race triggers the double free, which an attacker can shape into heap corruption primitives suitable for privilege escalation in kernel context.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available for this issue. Refer to the Samsung CVE-2025-54601 advisory for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54601

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected kernel panics or BUG: KASAN: double-free style messages referencing the Wi-Fi driver in dmesg or device crash logs.
• Repeated ioctl syscalls targeting the Wi-Fi driver device node issued from a single unprivileged process across multiple threads.
• Wi-Fi subsystem instability, including driver resets or unexpected interface teardown shortly after application launch.

Detection Strategies

• Monitor mobile device crash telemetry for kernel oops or panic signatures originating in the Exynos Wi-Fi driver modules.
• Inspect application behavior on managed devices for processes that spawn many threads issuing concurrent ioctl calls to Wi-Fi device files.
• Correlate Wi-Fi driver fault events with the firmware build identifier to confirm whether the device runs an unpatched Exynos image.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Centralize mobile crash and kernel log collection for fleets that include Exynos-based handsets and wearables.
• Track Samsung Semiconductor security bulletins for firmware updates referencing CVE-2025-54601.
• Flag installation of unvetted applications on devices using affected Exynos processors, since exploitation requires local code execution.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54601

Immediate Actions Required

• Inventory all mobile and wearable devices running the affected Exynos chipsets listed in the advisory.
• Apply the Samsung firmware update addressing CVE-2025-54601 as soon as the device OEM publishes a build incorporating the patch.
• Restrict installation of untrusted applications via mobile device management policies until patched firmware is deployed.

Patch Information

Samsung Semiconductor has published advisory information at Samsung Product Security Updates and the issue-specific page Samsung CVE-2025-54601 Details. Device OEMs integrate the corrected Wi-Fi driver into their monthly security maintenance releases. Confirm patch availability with the handset or wearable vendor for each affected model.

Workarounds

• Enforce application allowlisting through enterprise mobility management to block untrusted local code from running on affected devices.
• Disable Wi-Fi where operationally feasible on high-risk devices until vendor firmware updates are applied.
• Limit sideloading and developer mode on managed Exynos-based devices to reduce the pool of code that can invoke driver ioctl paths.

# Example MDM policy check: identify devices running affected Exynos SoCs
adb shell getprop ro.board.platform
adb shell getprop ro.hardware
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch