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Mallory
High

Android Framework cross-user permission grant in HeaderPrivacyIconsController.kt

IdentifiersCVE-2025-48589CWE-269

CVE-2025-48589 is an Android Framework elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in multiple functions of HeaderPrivacyIconsController.kt. According to the provided description, a logic error can allow permissions to be granted across users. This creates a cross-user authorization flaw in which an attacker operating locally on the device may obtain permissions or capabilities outside the intended user boundary. Exploitation does not require user interaction or additional execution privileges.

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For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

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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 can result in local elevation of privilege across Android user boundaries. An attacker may be able to gain permissions associated with another user context, undermining Android’s multi-user isolation model and potentially enabling unauthorized access to resources or actions that should be restricted to a different user profile.

Mitigation

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

Until patches are deployed, reduce exposure by limiting local code execution opportunities from untrusted applications, restricting app installation to trusted sources, and enforcing rapid update compliance on managed Android fleets. Because exploitation is local and requires no user interaction, mitigation is limited without the vendor patch; prioritizing patch deployment is the primary defensive measure.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the Android security updates that include the fix for CVE-2025-48589. The provided bulletin context indicates that devices updated to the 2025-12-05 Android security patch level are fully remediated for issues disclosed in the December 2025 bulletin, including Framework vulnerabilities such as this one. OEM and vendor-supplied updates should also be applied where applicable.
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.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

4 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

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.