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Improper Privilege ManagementWeakness · CWE-269

CVE-2025-34251

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v4.0 Published 2025-10-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Tesla Telematics Control Unit (TCU) firmware prior to v2025.14 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. The TCU runs the Android Debug Bridge (adbd) as root and, despite a “lockdown” check that disables adb shell, still permits adb push/pull and adb forward. Because adbd is privileged and the device’s USB port is exposed externally, an attacker with physical access can write an arbitrary file to a writable location and then overwrite the kernel’s uevent_helper or /proc/sys/kernel/hotplug entries via ADB, causing the script to be executed with root privileges.

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 · high confidence

The Tesla TCU runs Android Debug Bridge (adbd) as root with a flawed lockdown check that disables adb shell but still permits adb push/pull and adb forward operations. An attacker with physical USB access can write arbitrary files to writable locations and overwrite kernel uevent_helper or /proc/sys/kernel/hotplug entries, causing the written script to execute with root privileges.

MitigationUpgrade TCU firmware to v2025.14 or later. If upgrade is not feasible, physically disable or restrict access to the USB port and disable the ADB service at the kernel level.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify TCU firmware version
    Access the Tesla service menu or vehicle diagnostics interface to retrieve the TCU firmware version. On vehicles with LTE/5G modems, the version is typically displayed under 'Software' > 'TCU Version' or can be obtained via the vehicle's diagnostic port.
    Affected if The installed TCU firmware version is lower than v2025.14, indicating the vulnerable adbd implementation is present.
  2. Verify ADB service status on TCU
    Check if the Android Debug Bridge daemon (adbd) is running on the TCU. This typically requires service mode access to the TCU unit or checking process lists via diagnostic tools.
    Affected if The ADB daemon is running and exposed, which is required for the adb push/pull operations that enable the attack.
  3. Confirm USB debugging is enabled
    Examine whether USB debugging/ADB access is enabled on the TCU. On Android-based TCU units, this setting is typically found in developer options or can be queried through diagnostic interfaces.
    Affected if USB debugging is enabled and accessible via the USB port, allowing an attacker with physical USB access to interact with adbd.
  4. Inspect uevent_helper configuration
    Check the kernel uevent_helper setting by reading /sys/kernel/uevent_helper or by examining the contents of /proc/sys/kernel/hotplug if accessible through diagnostic tools.
    Affected if The uevent_helper or hotplug entry points to an unexpected or suspicious script path, indicating potential exploitation activity.
  5. Review TCU file system for unauthorized scripts
    Examine common writable locations such as /system, /data/local/tmp, or other configurable paths for newly created or modified executable scripts that could have been deployed via adb push.
    Affected if Unexpected scripts or executable files exist in writable locations on the TCU file system, suggesting successful adb push exploitation.

A Tesla vehicle is affected if its TCU firmware version is below v2025.14, the ADB daemon is running with USB debugging enabled, and the attacker had physical USB access to the TCU port.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade TCU firmware to v2025.14 or later. If upgrade is not feasible, physically disable or restrict access to the USB port and disable the ADB service at the kernel level.

Recommended fix High confidence

Tesla TCU firmware v2025.14

  1. Upgrade Tesla Telematics Control Unit (TCU) firmware to version v2025.14 or later to obtain the fixed adbd configuration
  2. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict physical access to the TCU's USB port to prevent unauthorized adb access
  3. Verify the upgrade by checking the firmware version through Tesla's diagnostic or maintenance interface
  4. After upgrade, confirm that adb push/pull operations are properly restricted and the lockdown check now fully disables ADB functionality

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,580
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-34251 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data