Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-53966 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Samsung Exynos 1380 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 4th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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-2025-53966 is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-120) discovered in Samsung Mobile Processor Exynos 1380, 1480, 2400, and 1580. The issue stems from incorrect handling of the NL80211 vendor command during processing of an IOCTL message, which can lead to a buffer overflow. Published on January 5, 2026, it has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact.
A local attacker with no privileges required can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity and no user interaction. By crafting a malicious IOCTL message targeting the NL80211 vendor command, the attacker triggers the buffer overflow, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution, data corruption, or system crashes with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts within the affected processor's scope.
Samsung Semiconductor has published product security updates addressing this issue, with details available at https://semiconductor.samsung.com/support/quality-support/product-security-updates/ and the dedicated CVE page at https://semiconductor.samsung.com/support/quality-support/product-security-updates/cve-2025-53966/. Security practitioners should consult these advisories for patch deployment and mitigation guidance on affected Exynos-based devices.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-0809
Vulnerability Data
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.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.
Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.
Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.
Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.
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 directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
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.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.
Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.
Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.