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CVE-2025-59604 describes a memory corruption vulnerability that occurs during a memory copy operation (e.g., memcpy, memmove, or a DMA transfer) within a low-level Qualcomm firmware component, such as the TrustZone or modem DSP. The root cause is an invalid write triggered by a null pointer dereference. Under specific conditions, a pointer used as the source or destination address for the copy is not properly validated before use. An attacker with local or remote access (depending on the attack surface) can force the pointer to become null—for example, by supplying a maliciously crafted input that bypasses a sanity check or by causing a previous allocation to fail without proper error handling.
When the memory copy routine executes with a null pointer, the hardware attempts to write data to virtual address 0 (or an offset from 0). On many Qualcomm platforms, the zero page may be mapped but with restricted permissions, or it may be unmapped, leading to a fault. However, if the copy uses a size large enough to cross into valid writable memory (e.g., due to an integer overflow or a large length field), the invalid writes can corrupt adjacent critical data structures. These include function pointers, saved return addresses, or security policy metadata. The corruption can result in arbitrary code execution with the highest privilege level (e.g., EL3 or secure world), full device compromise, or a denial-of-service condition (reboot loop). The vulnerability is triggered by a specific sequence of operations that mis-handles edge cases in the copy logic—such as overlapping buffers, zero-length copies, or error paths that leave pointers uninitialized. Exploitation does not require user interaction in many scenarios, making it wormable across nearby devices via radio interfaces (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). The CVE was assigned by Qualcomm’s internal PSIR and published via NVD on June 1, 2026, with patches expected in the July 2026 security bulletin.
DailyCVE Form:
Platform: Qualcomm chipsets
Version: Multiple firmware versions
Vulnerability: Memory copy null
Severity: Critical
date: 01 June 2026
Prediction: 15 July 2026
What Undercode Say:
Analytics from crash dumps and fuzzing logs:
Check for null-dereference crashes in Qualcomm firmware logs adb shell logcat -b crash | grep -i "null pointer|copy operation" Extract DSP crash dumps from /sys/fs/pstore/ adb pull /sys/fs/pstore/console-ramoops ./dsp_crash.log Use QXDM to monitor memory copy failures on debug builds qxdm_cli --diag-port /dev/ttyUSB0 --filter "MCPY_ERR" --output mcpy_errors.pcap Fuzzing harness to reproduce null pointer in copy routine (simplified) echo -e "\x00\x00\x00\x00\xff\xff\xff\xff" | qualcomm_fuzz_target --ioctl 0x1234 --copy-size 0xffff
Exploit:
- Trigger allocation failure (e.g., exhaust heap via
msm_sock_alloc). - Cause a pointer to remain null after error path.
- Invoke memory copy with attacker-controlled length (e.g., 0xFFFFFFFF).
- Write zeros or arbitrary data from null offset into kernel/secure memory.
5. Overwrite a function pointer in `.data` section.
6. Hijack control flow to shellcode.
Protection:
- Apply Qualcomm security bulletin July 2026 patch.
- Enable PAN (Privileged Access Never) and PXN on supported cores.
- Use CFI (Control Flow Integrity) in firmware builds.
- Disable mapping of zero page via
sysctl vm.mmap_min_addr=65536. - Restrict access to vulnerable IOCTLs via SELinux policies.
Impact:
Privilege escalation from normal/radio to EL3/secure world; full device takeover; persistent rootkit installation; bypass of verified boot; remote code execution over Bluetooth/Wi-Fi without user interaction; denial-of-service leading to permanent device brick.
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Sources:
Reported By: nvd.nist.gov
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