Local privilege escalation via retained autofill binding
Published Sep 4, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026
Privilege escalation in Android 13 through 16 allows local users to launch background activities through a malicious autofill service. RemoteFillService.onNullBinding leaves an autofill service bound to system_server when its onBind method returns null, preserving background-launch privileges. A low-privileged local app can exploit the insecure default without user interaction or additional execution privileges.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Android 13 through 16 allows local users to launch background activities through a malicious autofill service. RemoteFillService.onNullBinding leaves an autofill service bound to system_server when its onBind method returns null, preserving background-launch privileges. A low-privileged local app can exploit the insecure default without user interaction or additional execution privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-48563
- Published
- Sep 4, 2025
- Updated
- Feb 26, 2026
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- CWE-453, T1404
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=13
- Affected versionversion=14
- Affected versionversion=15
- Affected versionversion=16
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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