CVE-2025-21042
Memory Safety in Samsung Android 13.0 … 15.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-21042 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Samsung Android. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-21042 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in libimagecodec.quram.so, present in versions prior to Samsung's SMR Apr-2025 Release 1. The flaw is tracked under CWE-787 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, reflecting network attack vectors with low complexity that require user interaction but grant full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Remote attackers can exploit the issue to execute arbitrary code on affected devices. The attack requires no authentication and can be delivered over the network, typically through crafted image content that triggers the memory corruption when processed by the vulnerable library.
Samsung's April 2025 security maintenance release addresses the flaw through updated firmware. The vulnerability also appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild, while public reporting links it to commercial Android spyware campaigns. The associated EPSS score remains flat at 0.0441 with no material increase since disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-29029
Vulnerability Data
Out-of-bounds write in libimagecodec.quram.so prior to SMR Apr-2025 Release 1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 10 November 2025
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.
Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.
Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.
Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.
Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.
Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.
Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.
Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.
Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.