Samsung Mobile Devices – Race Condition in MFC Charger Driver (CVE‑2021‑25395) Enables Arbitrary Write
What It Is
A race‑condition flaw in Samsung’s MFC charger driver can trigger a use‑after‑free condition. If an attacker first compromises the device’s radio privilege, the flaw permits an arbitrary memory write, potentially leading to code execution on the device.
Exploitability
The vulnerability is rated High severity. Public proof‑of‑concept code has been released, and the issue is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild. No public exploit‑as‑a‑service is confirmed, but the presence of PoC raises the risk profile.
Affected Products
- Vendor: Samsung
- Products: All Samsung mobile devices that include the MFC charger driver (covers a broad range of smartphones and tablets released prior to the latest security patch).
Why It Matters for Compliance & Audit Readiness
- Access Controls & Device Management: The flaw bypasses the radio‑privilege boundary, undermining the principle of least privilege for mobile endpoints.
- Continuous Control Monitoring: Evidence of timely patch deployment and MDM policy enforcement becomes a key audit artifact for frameworks such as NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and PCI‑DSS.
- Defensible Audit Trail: Documenting remediation actions (patch status, configuration baselines, and monitoring alerts) demonstrates due diligence and supports control‑mapping exercises in the Trust Center.
Recommended Actions
- Map the Control: Align the vulnerability to the “Device Security” and “Privilege Management” controls in your security framework.
- Patch Management: Verify that the latest Samsung security update (released after 2021‑09) is installed on all managed devices.
- MDM Enforcement: Enforce strict radio‑privilege policies via Mobile Device Management solutions; disable unnecessary radio features where feasible.
- Continuous Monitoring: Deploy endpoint detection rules that flag abnormal charger‑driver activity or attempts to manipulate radio privileges.
- Evidence Capture: Record patch‑status reports, MDM policy configurations, and monitoring alerts to build a defensible audit trail.
Source: CISA KEV – CVE‑2021‑25395