CVE-2022-25675 in Snapdragon Compute
Summary
by MITRE • 12/13/2022
Denial of service due to reachable assertion in modem while processing filter rule from application client in Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-25675 represents a critical denial of service condition affecting multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon product lines including Compute, Industrial IOT, and Mobile platforms. This issue manifests when a modem encounters a specific filter rule generated by an application client, triggering an assertion that leads to system instability and potential complete service interruption. The flaw exists within the modem's processing logic for handling network filter rules, where improper validation or handling of malformed input data causes the system to enter an unrecoverable state through assertion failure mechanisms.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation within the modem's rule processing subsystem. When an application client sends a filter rule to the modem component, the system fails to properly validate the rule structure or content before attempting to process it. This validation gap allows malicious or malformed input to reach the assertion point where the system terminates execution or enters a loop that prevents normal operation. The assertion failure typically occurs in the modem's packet filtering or traffic management component, which is responsible for enforcing network access controls and routing decisions based on client-provided rules.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to devices running affected Snapdragon platforms as it can be exploited to cause complete service disruption without requiring elevated privileges or specialized access. The impact extends across various device categories including mobile phones, industrial IoT devices, and computing platforms that rely on Qualcomm's modem functionality. Attackers can trigger the denial of service condition by simply sending a specially crafted filter rule to the modem, potentially causing network connectivity loss, application crashes, or complete device reboot cycles that can disrupt critical operations in industrial environments or mobile communications.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-617, which addresses reachable assertions in software systems, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 related to network denial of service attacks. The exploitation requires minimal technical expertise and can be performed remotely through network communications, making it particularly dangerous for mobile and IoT environments where devices may be deployed in critical infrastructure scenarios. The affected Snapdragon platforms are widely used in enterprise and consumer devices, amplifying the potential impact of this vulnerability across multiple industries and deployment scenarios.
Mitigation strategies should focus on firmware updates from device manufacturers that address the input validation issues in the modem component. System administrators should implement network monitoring to detect anomalous filter rule traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls can help limit the potential impact of such attacks by restricting which applications or clients can send filter rules to the modem. Device vendors should also consider implementing input sanitization mechanisms at the application layer to prevent malformed rules from reaching the vulnerable modem processing components. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar validation gaps in other system components that may present similar attack vectors.