Local privilege escalation via unfiltered cross-user usages
Published Dec 8, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026
Privilege escalation in Google Android 13 through 16 allows local users to gain cross-user permissions without user interaction. HeaderPrivacyIconsController.permGroupUsage returned app-op permission usages for every user and sent them to Safety Center without restricting results to the current user and profiles. A low-privileged local user can reach the SystemUI path without further execution privileges, breaking Android user-profile isolation.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Google Android 13 through 16 allows local users to gain cross-user permissions without user interaction. HeaderPrivacyIconsController.permGroupUsage returned app-op permission usages for every user and sent them to Safety Center without restricting results to the current user and profiles. A low-privileged local user can reach the SystemUI path without further execution privileges, breaking Android user-profile isolation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-48589
- Published
- Dec 8, 2025
- Updated
- Feb 26, 2026
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 8, 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
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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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