CVE-2025-21442
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMemory corruption while transmitting packet mapping information with invalid header payload size.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability exists in the packet mapping information transmission logic where an invalid header payload size is not properly validated, leading to out-of-bounds memory access. This could allow an attacker to corrupt memory by sending specially crafted packets with malformed header sizes.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Qualcomm firmware componentCheck your system's firmware or driver information for one of: Qam8255p, Qam8295p, Qam8620p, Qam8650p, Qam8775p, Qamsrv1h, Qamsrv1m, Qca6574au. This may be visible in device firmware details, driver logs, or system inventory.Affected if Any of the listed firmware components are present, as all versions are affected.
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Confirm packet mapping transmission feature is activeDetermine whether the packet mapping information transmission functionality is enabled on the affected device. This may involve checking service status, module loading, or configuration settings related to packet mapping or header processing.Affected if The packet mapping transmission feature is actively running or loaded on the system.
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Review packet handling logs for anomaliesExamine system logs, kernel messages, or network service logs for any warnings, errors, or crashes related to packet header processing, payload size validation failures, or memory access violations.Affected if Logs contain entries indicating header validation failures, out-of-bounds memory access attempts, or unexpected packet handling errors.
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Inspect network traffic for malformed packetsCapture and analyze network packets using a packet sniffer, focusing on any proprietary packet mapping protocols used by the Qualcomm firmware. Look for packets where header size fields appear inconsistent or unusually large.Affected if Packets with malformed or oversized header payload sizes are observed traversing the network interface.
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Qualcomm firmware components with packet mapping transmission functionality enabled, and evidence of malformed header handling or memory corruption is present.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement rigorous bounds checking on header payload sizes before any memory operations in the packet mapping transmission code path; validate that payload sizes fall within expected bounds and do not exceed allocated buffer lengths.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21442 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21442 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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