CVE-2025-48595: Android Privilege Escalation Exploitation — Detection and Remediation Guide

---
title: Android Privilege Escalation - Suspicious System Process Execution
id: a7f3c8d2-4e1b-48f2-a3c5-9b2d1e4f3c8a
status: experimental
description: Detects execution of commands from unexpected Android system components indicating potential privilege escalation via CVE-2025-48595
references:
  - https://source.android.com/security/bulletin
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/06/01
tags:
  - attack.privilege_escalation
  - attack.t1068
logsource:
  product: android
  category: process_creation
detection:
  selection:
    ParentImage|contains:
      - '/system/'
      - '/system_ext/'
    Image|notcontains:
      - '/system/app/'
      - '/system/priv-app/'
      - '/vendor/'
    CommandLine|contains:
      - 'sh'
      - 'su'
      - 'bin/bash'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate system administration tools
  - Authorized debugging activities
level: high
---
title: Android - Unexpected Permission Grant from System Component
id: b8e4d9f3-5f2c-59g3-b4d6-0c3e2f5g4d9b
status: experimental
description: Detects unusual permission grants that may indicate exploitation of CVE-2025-48595 privilege escalation vulnerability
references:
  - https://source.android.com/security/bulletin
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/06/01
tags:
  - attack.privilege_escalation
  - attack.t1068
logsource:
  product: android
  category: permission_change
detection:
  selection:
    GrantedPermission|contains:
      - 'android.permission.ROOT'
      - 'android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS'
    SourceComponent|contains:
      - 'system'
    TargetPackage|notcontains:
      - 'com.android'
      - 'com.google.android'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate enterprise MDM permission grants
  - Authorized testing activities
level: high
---
title: Android - Suspicious File Access from Elevated Context
id: c9f5e0g4-6g3d-60h4-c5e7-1d4f3g6h5e0c
status: experimental
description: Detects file system access patterns indicative of privilege escalation exploitation on Android devices
references:
  - https://source.android.com/security/bulletin
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/06/01
tags:
  - attack.privilege_escalation
  - attack.t1068
  - attack.t1005
logsource:
  product: android
  category: file_access
detection:
  selection:
    TargetPath|contains:
      - '/data/data/'
      - '/data/system/'
      - '/data/user/'
    AccessingProcess|notcontains:
      - '/system/app/'
      - '/system/priv-app/'
    AccessMode|contains:
      - 'WRITE'
      - 'EXECUTE'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate backup applications
  - Authorized security scanning tools
level: medium

// Hunt for suspicious privilege escalation events on Android devices
// Requires Android security logs ingested via CEF or Syslog
let ElevatedProcessCreation = DeviceProcessEvents
| where Timestamp >= ago(7d)
| where DeviceType == "Android" or DeviceOSPlatform == "Android"
| whereFolderPath has "/system/" 
| where InitiatingProcessFolderPath !has "/system/app/" 
   and InitiatingProcessFolderPath !has "/system/priv-app/" 
   and InitiatingProcessFolderPath !has "/vendor/"
| where ProcessCommandLine has_any ("sh", "su", "bash", "nc", "netcat")
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, ProcessName, ProcessCommandLine, 
          InitiatingProcessName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine, SHA256, DeviceId;

ElevatedProcessCreation
| summarize count(), make_set(ProcessCommandLine) by DeviceName, InitiatingProcessName
| where count_ > 3
| order by count_ desc;

// Android - Potential CVE-2025-48595 exploitation indicators
let PermissionAnomalies = SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(7d)
| where EventID in (4663, 5140) // File access and privilege use events
| where SubjectUserName == "SYSTEM" or SubjectUserName == "root"
| where ObjectName has "/data/" 
| where SubjectLogonId != "0x3e7" // Not system logon
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, SubjectUserName, ObjectName, AccessMask, EventID;

PermissionAnomalies
| summarize EventCount = count(), AccessedFiles = make_set(ObjectName) by Computer, SubjectUserName
| where EventCount > 10
| order by EventCount desc
| extend RiskScore = iff(EventCount > 50, "Critical", iff(EventCount > 20, "High", "Medium"));

-- Hunt for Android privilege escalation indicators
-- Collect suspicious process executions that may indicate CVE-2025-48595 exploitation

-- Get list of running processes with elevated privileges
SELECT Pid, Ppid, Name, Username, Cwd, Exe, CommandLine
FROM pslist()
WHERE Username =~ 'root' 
   OR Username =~ 'system'
   OR Exe =~ '/system.*bin/'

-- Hunt for recently modified system directories (potential backdoor installation)
SELECT FullPath, Size, Mode.Mtime, Mode.Atime, Mode.Ctime, Mode.Permissions
FROM glob(globs='/data/system/*', accessor='auto')
WHERE Mode.Mtime > now() - timedelta(hours=24)
   AND Mode.Permissions =~ '777'

-- Check for suspicious network connections from system processes
SELECT Pid, Family, RemoteAddress, RemotePort, State, Uid
FROM netstat()
WHERE (RemotePort IN (4444, 5555, 6666) OR Uid < 1000) -- Low UID = system process
   AND State =~ 'ESTABLISHED'
   AND RemoteAddress != '127.0.0.1'

-- Identify Android security patch level
SELECT OS.FriendlyName, OS.Build, OS.Release, OS.Version, 
       F.QName, F.Size, F.Mtime
FROM info()
LEFT JOIN SELECT OS.FriendlyName FROM info()
LEFT JOIN SELECT FullPath AS FName, Mtime FROM glob(globs='/system/build.prop')

#!/bin/bash
# Android CVE-2025-48595 Compliance Check and Remediation Script
# Version: 1.0
# Date: June 2026
# Purpose: Identify Android devices vulnerable to CVE-2025-48595 and verify patch status

# CVE-2025-48595 was patched in Android Security Patch Level: June 2026
# Devices with patch level 2026-06-01 or later are considered patched

set -e

RED='\033[0;31m'
GREEN='\033[0;32m'
YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
NC='\033[0m' # No Color

TARGET_PATCH_YEAR="2026"
TARGET_PATCH_MONTH="06"

echo "============================================================"
echo "CVE-2025-48595 Android Vulnerability Assessment"
echo "Privilege Escalation - CVSS 8.4 (High)"
echo "============================================================"
echo ""

# Function to check if running on Android
check_android() {
    if [ ! -f "/system/build.prop" ]; then
        echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} This script must be run on an Android device"
        echo "        Detected OS: $(uname -s)"
        exit 1
    fi
}

# Function to extract security patch level from system properties
get_patch_level() {
    local patch_level=""
    
    # Try multiple methods to get security patch level
    patch_level=$(getprop ro.build.version.security_patch 2>/dev/null || echo "")
    
    if [ -z "$patch_level" ]; then
        patch_level=$(grep "ro.build.version.security_patch" /system/build.prop 2>/dev/null | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d ' ' || echo "")
    fi
    
    if [ -z "$patch_level" ]; then
        patch_level=$(grep "ro.build.date.utc" /system/build.prop 2>/dev/null | cut -d= -f2 || echo "")
        if [ -n "$patch_level" ]; then
            patch_level=$(date -d "@$patch_level" +%Y-%m 2>/dev/null || echo "UNKNOWN")
        fi
    fi
    
    echo "$patch_level"
}

# Function to compare patch levels
is_patched() {
    local current_patch="$1"
    local current_year=$(echo "$current_patch" | cut -d- -f1)
    local current_month=$(echo "$current_patch" | cut -d- -f2)
    
    if [ -z "$current_year" ] || [ -z "$current_month" ]; then
        return 1
    fi
    
    # Compare years
    if [ "$current_year" -gt "$TARGET_PATCH_YEAR" ]; then
        return 0
    elif [ "$current_year" -lt "$TARGET_PATCH_YEAR" ]; then
        return 1
    fi
    
    # Same year, compare months
    if [ "$current_month" -ge "$TARGET_PATCH_MONTH" ]; then
        return 0
    fi
    
    return 1
}

# Function to check for suspicious privilege escalation indicators
check_compromise_indicators() {
    echo -e "${YELLOW}[INFO]${NC} Checking for potential compromise indicators..."
    
    local indicators_found=0
    
    # Check for suspicious su binaries in non-standard locations
    if [ -f "/data/local/tmp/su" ] || [ -f "/cache/su" ]; then
        echo -e "${RED}[WARNING]${NC} Found su binary in non-standard location"
        indicators_found=$((indicators_found + 1))
    fi
    
    # Check for reverse shells
    if pgrep -f "nc.*-l.*-e" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        echo -e "${RED}[WARNING]${NC} Detected potential netcat reverse shell process"
        indicators_found=$((indicators_found + 1))
    fi
    
    # Check for suspicious permissions on system directories
    if [ "$(stat -c %a /data 2>/dev/null)" = "777" ]; then
        echo -e "${RED}[WARNING]${NC} Suspicious world-writable permissions on /data"
        indicators_found=$((indicators_found + 1))
    fi
    
    # Check for recently modified binaries in system partition
    recent_bins=$(find /system/bin -type f -mtime -1 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
    if [ "$recent_bins" -gt 0 ]; then
        echo -e "${YELLOW}[INFO]${NC} Found $recent_bins recently modified system binaries"
    fi
    
    if [ "$indicators_found" -eq 0 ]; then
        echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} No obvious compromise indicators detected"
    else
        echo -e "${RED}[ALERT]${NC} Found $indicators_found potential compromise indicators"
        echo "        Recommend full incident response investigation"
    fi
}

# Main execution
check_android

PATCH_LEVEL=$(get_patch_level)

echo "Current Security Patch Level: ${PATCH_LEVEL}"
echo ""

if [ -z "$PATCH_LEVEL" ] || [ "$PATCH_LEVEL" = "UNKNOWN" ]; then
    echo -e "${RED}[VULNERABLE]${NC} Unable to determine security patch level"
    echo -e "${YELLOW}[REMEDIATION]${NC} Verify patch level manually and apply June 2026 update"
    echo "                    Vendor Advisory: https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2026-06-01"
    exit 2
fi

if is_patched "$PATCH_LEVEL"; then
    echo -e "${GREEN}[PROTECTED]${NC} Device is patched against CVE-2025-48595"
    echo "                   Security Patch Level: $PATCH_LEVEL"
    exit 0
else
    echo -e "${RED}[VULNERABLE]${NC} Device is vulnerable to CVE-2025-48595"
    echo "                   Current Patch: $PATCH_LEVEL"
    echo "                   Required Patch: ${TARGET_PATCH_YEAR}-${TARGET_PATCH_MONTH} or later"
    echo ""
    echo -e "${YELLOW}[REMEDIATION STEPS]${NC}:"
    echo "1. Navigate to Settings > System > System Update"
    echo "2. Download and install the June 2026 security update"
    echo "3. Reboot device and verify patch level"
    echo "4. If update unavailable, contact device vendor for patch timeline"
    echo ""
    echo "CISA KEV Recommendation: Patch by due date (refer to CISA KEV catalog)"
    echo "Vendor Advisory: https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2026-06-01"
    echo ""
    
    # Run compromise check since device is vulnerable
    check_compromise_indicators
    
    exit 3
fi