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Mallory
Critical

Android background app launch precondition check failure privilege escalation

IdentifiersCVE-2025-48626CWE-693· Protection Mechanism Failure

CVE-2025-48626 is a Google Android vulnerability in the Android System component affecting Android 13.0 through 16.0. The issue is described as a precondition check failure in multiple locations that makes it possible to launch an application from the background when that action should have been blocked. This represents a protection mechanism failure in which required checks are not correctly enforced before permitting the app launch. Successful exploitation can lead to remote elevation of privilege without requiring additional execution privileges, and no user interaction is needed.

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For your environment

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to bypass intended Android restrictions on background application launches and achieve elevation of privilege remotely. Because the flaw requires no user interaction and no additional execution privileges, it increases the likelihood of reliable, automated exploitation. The available context indicates high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patches are fully deployed, reduce exposure by accelerating rollout of the December 2025 Android security updates across managed fleets, prioritizing supported Android 13–16 devices. Ensure OEM/vendor updates are also applied where integration lag exists. In development and hardening contexts, review and strengthen authorization and precondition validation around background activity launches, and monitor for abnormal or unauthorized background app launch behavior. Specific temporary mitigations beyond patching are not provided in the available content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the Android security updates released by Google for the December 2025 bulletin, specifically the fixes covering CVE-2025-48626 in supported Android 13–16 builds. Devices should be updated to the appropriate patched security level, with the 2025-12-05 patch level described as fully remediating issues in the bulletin when available through the OEM. Remediation should focus on correcting the faulty precondition checks and enforcing robust authorization around background app launch behavior.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
GoogleAndroidoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity3

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.