CVE-2025-21446

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-21446?

CVE-2025-21446 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability allows a denial-of-service (DoS) condition in Qualcomm wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets when processing vendor-specific information elements in BTM (BSS Transition Management) request frames. An attacker can send specially crafted WLAN frames to cause temporary service disruption. Affected systems include devices with vulnerable Qualcomm WLAN chipsets.

7.5 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows a denial-of-service (DoS) condition in Qualcomm wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets when processing vendor-specific information elements in BTM (BSS Transition Management) request frames. An attacker can send specially crafted WLAN frames to cause temporary service disruption. Affected systems include devices with vulnerable Qualcomm WLAN chipsets.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Qualcomm WLAN chipsets and devices using them

Versions: Specific versions not publicly detailed in initial advisory

Operating Systems: Android, Linux, and other OS using Qualcomm WLAN drivers

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects devices with BTM (802.11v) capability enabled. Mobile devices, IoT devices, and networking equipment using affected Qualcomm chipsets are vulnerable.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete wireless network disruption for affected devices, requiring reboot or reconnection to restore functionality.

🟠

Likely Case

Temporary wireless connectivity loss or degraded performance on affected devices until the malformed frame processing completes.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and wireless intrusion prevention systems in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: MEDIUM - Requires proximity to wireless network but can affect internet-facing wireless access points.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal wireless networks are vulnerable if attacker gains physical or wireless access.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires sending malformed WLAN frames to target devices. No authentication needed but requires wireless network access.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Refer to Qualcomm July 2025 security bulletin for specific chipset firmware versions

Vendor Advisory: https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/july-2025-bulletin.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Check Qualcomm advisory for affected chipset models. 2. Obtain updated firmware from device manufacturer. 3. Apply firmware update following manufacturer instructions. 4. Reboot device to activate new firmware.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable BTM (802.11v) capability

linux

Disable BSS Transition Management feature on wireless access points to prevent processing of vulnerable frames

# On Linux AP: iw dev wlan0 set bss_transition 0
# Check current: iw dev wlan0 info | grep bss_transition

Implement wireless intrusion prevention

all

Configure WIPS to detect and block malformed vendor-specific information elements in WLAN frames

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Segment wireless networks to limit blast radius of potential DoS attacks
Implement strict wireless client isolation to prevent frame propagation between devices

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check device specifications for Qualcomm WLAN chipset and consult manufacturer security advisories

Check Version:

# Android: getprop ro.boot.wlan.chip.version
# Linux: dmesg | grep -i qualcomm

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version matches or exceeds patched version from Qualcomm bulletin

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Wireless driver crash logs
Unexpected WLAN disconnections
BTM request processing errors

Network Indicators:

Unusual vendor-specific IE in WLAN frames
Excessive BTM request frames from single source

SIEM Query:

source="wireless_controller" AND (vendor_specific_ie OR btm_request) AND error

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-21446

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-126

EPSS Score: 0.07% exploit probability (21.2th percentile)

Published: July 8, 2025

Last Updated: August 11, 2025

🔗 References

https://docs.qualcomm.com/product/publicresources/securitybulletin/july-2025-bulletin.html Vendor Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Ar8035 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ar9380 Firmware by Qualcomm

Csr8811 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6700 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6800 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 6900 Firmware by Qualcomm

Fastconnect 7800 Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 214 Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 216 Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 316 Firmware by Qualcomm

Immersive Home 318 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5010 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5028 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq5332 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6010 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6018 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq6028 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8064 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8065 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8068 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8070a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8071a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8072a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8074a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8076 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8076a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8078 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8078a Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8173 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq8174 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9008 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9048 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9554 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9570 Firmware by Qualcomm

Ipq9574 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8255p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8295p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8620p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8650p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qam8775p Firmware by Qualcomm

Qamsrv1h Firmware by Qualcomm

Qamsrv1m Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca0000 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca2062 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca2064 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca2065 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca2066 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca4024 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6174a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6391 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6421 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6426 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6431 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6436 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6554a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6564au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574a Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6574au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6584au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6595au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6678aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6688aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6696 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6698aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6698au Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6777aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6787aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca6797aq Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8072 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8075 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8081 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8082 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8084 Firmware by Qualcomm

Qca8085 Firmware by Qualcomm