Overview
In the realm of cybersecurity, vulnerabilities are an inevitable occurrence. Among them, a recently discovered vulnerability, CVE-2025-48543, poses a significant threat to Android users globally. This security flaw is related to Android’s chrome sandbox, where there is a possibility of escaping the sandbox to attack the android system_server, leading to a potential local escalation of privilege. The severity of this vulnerability is underscored by the fact that user interaction is not necessary for its exploitation, making it a silent but deadly threat to system integrity and data privacy.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-48543
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Not required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Android | All versions up to the latest at the time of discovery
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability is a classic use-after-free type. In multiple locations within the Android’s chrome sandbox, there is a flaw that allows for sandbox escape. This flaw can be exploited by an attacker to attack the android system_server. The vulnerability occurs due to the mishandling of memory (use after free), which means that the system continues to use memory after it has been freed. This could allow an attacker to manipulate the system by placing malicious code in these memory locations, leading to local escalation of privilege and potentially compromising the system or causing data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited. This is a simplified example and does not represent a real-world exploit.
public class Exploit {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Create a sandboxed process
Process sandboxedProcess = new Process("chromeSandbox");
// Wait for the sandboxed process to free some memory
waitForMemoryFree(sandboxedProcess);
// Inject malicious code in the freed memory
sandboxedProcess.writeToMemory("malicious_code");
// Trigger the sandboxed process to use the freed memory
sandboxedProcess.triggerUseAfterFree();
// Escalate privileges and attack the system server
attackSystemServer();
}
}Mitigation and Prevention
Users are advised to apply the vendor patch once it is available. In the meantime, using Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation. Regular software updates, careful monitoring of system activity, and following best practices for cybersecurity can also help prevent the exploitation of such vulnerabilities.
