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Exynos 1380 FirmwareOperating system · Samsung

CVE-2025-53966

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An issue was discovered in Samsung Mobile Processor Exynos 1380, 1480, 2400, and 1580. Incorrect Handling of the NL80211 vendor command leads to a buffer overflow during handling of an IOCTL message.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Samsung Exynos 1380, 1480, 2400, and 1580 mobile processors. The NL80211 vendor command handling in the WiFi driver incorrectly processes IOCTL messages, allowing memory corruption. This is a low-level firmware issue in the baseband/processor subsystem.

MitigationApply vendor firmware updates from Samsung for affected devices. No application-level workaround exists for this hardware/firmware vulnerability.

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
Exynos 1380 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Exynos 1480 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Exynos 1580 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Exynos 2400 FirmwareOperating 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the device processor model
    Check the system-on-chip (SoC) information via /proc/cpuinfo, device settings under 'About Phone' > 'Processor', or use a system information app. Look for 'Exynos' processor identifier.
    Affected if The processor model is Samsung Exynos 1380, 1480, 1580, or 2400 - all firmware versions of these processors are affected.
  2. Confirm the specific Exynos variant
    Review detailed SoC specifications from the device manufacturer or kernel boot logs (dmesg or /proc/kmsg) which often display the exact Exynos model number during boot.
    Affected if The device uses any of the four affected Exynos variants: 1380, 1480, 1580, or 2400.
  3. Verify wireless interface availability
    Confirm the device has an active Wi-Fi interface by checking 'ip link show' or 'iwconfig' output, or via Android settings under Wi-Fi. The vulnerability exists in the NL80211 wireless vendor command processing.
    Affected if The device has a functional wireless (Wi-Fi) interface - the vulnerability is triggered through crafted NL80211 vendor commands to the wireless driver.
  4. Check firmware version from vendor
    Review the device firmware/security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Software Information. Contact the device manufacturer or Samsung directly for specific firmware version mappings to confirm patch status.
    Affected if The device firmware is from before the vendor released security patches addressing CVE-2025-53966 (all versions prior to patch availability are affected).

A device containing an Exynos 1380, 1480, 1580, or 2400 processor with any firmware version is affected if the wireless interface is enabled, since all firmware versions of these processors contain the vulnerability.

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

Apply vendor firmware updates from Samsung for affected devices. No application-level workaround exists for this hardware/firmware vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Samsung security patch containing CVE-2025-53966 fix for Exynos 1380/1480/1580/2400 processors

  1. 1. Check Samsung Semiconductor security advisories at semiconductor.samsung.com for processor firmware updates addressing CVE-2025-53966
  2. 2. Contact your device manufacturer (Samsung or OEM) to obtain the latest Exynos processor firmware that includes the security fix
  3. 3. Apply the firmware update through the device manufacturer's recommended update mechanism
  4. 4. Verify the update was successfully applied by checking the firmware version
Caveat Firmware updates for processors may have compatibility considerations; test thoroughly in a non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Exynos 1380 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,720
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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-2025-53966 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data