AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2025-36921

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In ProtocolPsUnthrottleApn() of protocolpsadapter.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. This could lead to local information disclosure with baseband firmware compromise required. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.

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 confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the ProtocolPsUnthrottleApn() function in protocolpsadapter.cpp due to a missing bounds check. This could allow a locally situated attacker with already-compromised baseband firmware to read sensitive information beyond allocated buffer boundaries without any user interaction.

MitigationThis vulnerability requires the baseband firmware to already be compromised, so primary remediation involves securing the baseband firmware supply chain and deploying a firmware patch that adds proper bounds checking in the affected function.

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 data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm device runs Google Android
    Check system properties or settings to verify the device operating system is Google Android. This CVE affects all Android versions.
    Affected if Device runs any version of Google Android (all versions are affected)
  2. Identify baseband/modem firmware version
    Access the baseband firmware version through Android settings (Settings > About Phone > Baseband version) or via AT command interface (if available). Record the firmware version and build information.
    Affected if Baseband firmware version cannot be verified or is running an unofficial/custom firmware variant indicating potential compromise
  3. Check for baseband firmware tampering
    Compare the installed baseband firmware against official stock firmware for the specific device model and carrier. Verify firmware integrity using checksum comparison or trusted diagnostic tools that can detect modified firmware.
    Affected if Baseband firmware differs from official stock firmware, contains unexpected modifications, or cannot be verified as authentic
  4. Assess baseband firmware compromise indicators
    Look for signs of baseband compromise such as unexpected network behavior, unauthorized radio access, or abnormal modem subsystem logs. Use security diagnostic tools if available to scan for firmware anomalies.
    Affected if Baseband exhibits unexpected behavior, unauthorized network access patterns, or other indicators of compromise

A user is affected if they are running Google Android AND their baseband firmware has been compromised, since the vulnerability requires a pre-compromised baseband to exploit the missing bounds check in ProtocolPsUnthrottleApn().

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

This vulnerability requires the baseband firmware to already be compromised, so primary remediation involves securing the baseband firmware supply chain and deploying a firmware patch that adds proper bounds checking in the affected function.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-36921 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-36921 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data