CVE-2025-48564 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 12/08/2025
In multiple locations, there is a possible intent filter bypass due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition flaw in intent filter mechanisms that affects multiple system locations within the Android operating environment. The issue stems from improper synchronization during intent handling processes where the system fails to adequately validate intent filters before processing them, creating a temporal window where malicious actors can exploit this weakness. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-362 which specifically addresses race conditions in security-critical operations, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited without requiring any user interaction or additional privileges beyond normal system access. The race condition occurs when multiple threads or processes attempt to access and modify intent filter configurations simultaneously, potentially allowing unauthorized components to bypass security checks that should normally prevent them from receiving sensitive intents.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends to potential local privilege escalation scenarios where an attacker with minimal system access could elevate their privileges to system-level access without requiring any additional attack vectors or user interaction. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers local privilege escalation through race conditions and process manipulation. The flaw exists in the core Android framework components responsible for intent resolution and security enforcement, making it particularly insidious as it operates at a fundamental level of the operating system's security architecture. Attackers can exploit this weakness by carefully timing their actions to take advantage of the race condition window, potentially allowing them to execute code with elevated privileges or gain access to protected system resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper synchronization mechanisms throughout the intent filter processing pipeline, ensuring that all access to security-critical resources is properly locked and validated before any intent processing occurs. System administrators should prioritize applying security patches as soon as they become available, as this vulnerability can be exploited silently without any user awareness or interaction. The fix typically involves implementing atomic operations or mutex locks around the intent filter validation processes to prevent concurrent access that could lead to bypass scenarios. Additionally, comprehensive monitoring of intent processing activities should be implemented to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as SELinux policy enforcement and runtime integrity checking to provide defense-in-depth against potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper concurrency control in security-critical systems and highlights how seemingly minor synchronization issues can lead to significant privilege escalation capabilities for malicious actors.