CVE-2025-52909
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in the Wi-Fi driver in Samsung Mobile Processor and Wearable Processor Exynos 980, 850, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580, W920, W930, and W1000. Incorrect Handling of the NL80211 vendor command leads to a buffer overflow via a certain ioctl message, issue 2 of 2.
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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Wi-Fi driver for multiple Samsung Exynos processors (980, 850, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580, W920, W930, W1000). The vulnerability stems from incorrect handling of NL80211 vendor commands when processing a specific ioctl message, allowing an attacker to trigger a buffer overflow. This driver-level flaw has a CVSS 9.8 critical severity, indicating potential for complete device compromise via network-adjacent attacks.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.
-
Identify the Exynos processor model in your deviceCheck your device specifications, model number, or system information to determine which Exynos chipset (980, 850, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580, W920, W930, W1000) is used. For Android devices, use 'Settings > About Phone > Model' or check the FCC certification label. For wearables, consult the product specifications sheet.Affected if The device contains any of the following Exynos processors: 980, 850, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580, W920, W930, or W1000
-
Confirm the device has Wi-Fi capabilityVerify that the device includes Wi-Fi functionality by checking the product specifications or checking if Wi-Fi settings are available in the device OS.Affected if Wi-Fi is present and can be enabled on the device
-
Verify the Wi-Fi driver handles NL80211 vendor commandsOn Android devices, examine the Wi-Fi driver module loaded in the kernel. Use 'adb shell lsmod' to list loaded kernel modules and look for vendor-specific Wi-Fi driver modules (often named with 'wlan', 'cfg80211', or vendor-specific identifiers). The vulnerability exists in the driver that processes these NL80211 vendor ioctl messages.Affected if A Wi-Fi driver module that processes NL80211 vendor commands is loaded and active on the device
If your device uses any of the affected Exynos processors (980, 850, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 1580, W920, W930, W1000) and has Wi-Fi capability, you are affected since all firmware versions of these processors contain the vulnerability.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied firmware updates for affected Exynos processors once released. Since this is a driver-level vulnerability requiring source-code-level fixes, users cannot implement workarounds; they must wait for Samsung to distribute patched firmware through device update mechanisms.
- Consultation24.0 h
- Implementation48.0 h
- Testing32.0 h
- Review / QA16.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $33,792.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-52909 — 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-2025-52909 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data