Samsung Zero-Click Flaw Exploited to Deploy LANDFALL Android Spyware via WhatsApp

Nov 07, 2025Ravie LakshmananMobile Security / Vulnerability

A now-patched security flaw in Samsung Galaxy Android devices was exploited as a zero-day to deliver a “commercial-grade” Android spyware dubbed LANDFALL in targeted attacks in the Middle East.

The activity involved the exploitation of CVE-2025-21042 (CVSS score: 8.8), an out-of-bounds write flaw in the “libimagecodec.quram.so” component that could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, according to Palo Alto Networks Unit 42. The issue was addressed by Samsung in April 2025.

“This vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild before Samsung patched it in April 2025, following reports of in-the-wild attacks,” Unit 42 said. Potential targets of the activity, tracked as CL-UNK-1054, are located in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco based on VirusTotal submission data.

The development comes as Samsung disclosed in September 2025 that another flaw in the same library (CVE-2025-21043, CVSS score: 8.8) had also been exploited in the wild as a zero-day. There is no evidence of this security flaw being weaponized in the LANDFALL campaign.

It’s assessed that the attacks involved sending via WhatsApp malicious images in the form of DNG (Digital Negative) files, with evidence of LANDFALL samples going all the way back to July 23, 2024. This is based on DNG artifacts bearing names like “WhatsApp Image 2025-02-10 at 4.54.17 PM.jpeg” and “IMG-20240723-WA0000.jpg.”

LANDFALL, once installed and executed, acts as a comprehensive spy tool, capable of harvesting sensitive data, including microphone recording, location, photos, contacts, SMS, files, and call logs. The exploit chain is said to have likely involved the use of a zero-click approach to trigger exploitation of CVE-2025-21042 without requiring any user interaction.

Flowchart for LANDFALL spyware

It’s worth noting that around the same time WhatsApp disclosed that a flaw in its messaging app for iOS and macOS (CVE-2025-55177, CVSS score: 5.4) was chained along with CVE-2025-43300 (CVSS score: 8.8), a flaw in Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, to potentially target less than 200 users as part of a sophisticated campaign. Apple and WhatsApp have since patched the flaws.

Timeline for recent malicious DNG image files and associated exploit activity

Unit 42’s analysis of the discovered DNG files show that they come with an embedded ZIP file appended to the end of the file, with the exploit being used to extract a shared object library from the archive to run the spyware. Also present in the archive is another shared object that’s designed to manipulate the device’s SELinux policy to grant LANDFALL elevated permissions and facilitate persistence.

The shared object that loads LANDFALL also communicates with a command-and-control (C2) server over HTTPS to enter into a beaconing loop and receive unspecified next-stage payloads for subsequent execution.

It’s currently not known who is behind the spyware or the campaign. That said, Unit 42 said LANDFALL’s C2 infrastructure and domain registration patterns dovetail with that of Stealth Falcon (aka FruityArmor), although, as of October 2025, no direct overlaps between the two clusters have been detected.

“From the initial appearance of samples in July 2024, this activity highlights how sophisticated exploits can remain in public repositories for an extended period before being fully understood,” Unit 42 said.