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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-3872

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
libstagefright in Android before 5.1.1 LMY48T allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted media file, aka internal bug 23346388.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

libstagefright is a media playback framework in Android. This vulnerability allows remote code execution via memory corruption when processing a specially crafted media file, as the library fails to properly validate media file structures before parsing them.

MitigationUpdate affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to patch the vulnerability. For devices that cannot receive official updates, consider network-level filtering of untrusted media content or device replacement.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:<= 5.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android OS version
    Open Settings > About Phone (or About Device) > Android version. Alternatively, use 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release' via Android Debug Bridge.
    Affected if The version displays 5.1 or any version lower than 5.1.1 LMY48T, indicating the device is on an unpatched Android release.
  2. Check security patch level
    Open Settings > About Phone > Security patch level (may be labeled as Android security update). On some devices, use 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'.
    Affected if The patch level is empty, missing, or shows a date before August 2015, indicating the CVE fix has not been applied.
  3. Verify libstagefright component presence
    Confirm the device has libstagefright by checking for the library file: run 'adb shell ls /system/lib/libstagefright.so' or check for stagefright-related processes with 'adb shell ps -A | grep -i stagefright'.
    Affected if The library file exists and the device runs Android 5.1 or earlier, meaning the vulnerable code path is present on the system.
  4. Identify media playback usage
    Review installed apps that process media files (video players, browsers, messaging apps). Check if any app accesses video or audio content from untrusted sources.
    Affected if Media playback apps are in use on a device running Android 5.1 or earlier, creating an attack surface for specially crafted media files to trigger the vulnerability.
  5. Confirm update availability
    Check for pending system updates in Settings > System > Software Update (path varies by device). Run 'adb shell pm list updates' if available, or check with the device carrier/manufacturer for update support status.
    Affected if No update to Android 5.1.1 or higher is available or supported, leaving the vulnerability unpatched on the device.

A device is affected if it runs Android 5.1 or earlier and has not received the August 2015 security patch (version 5.1.1 LMY48T), since the vulnerability exists in the libstagefright media parsing library present in those versions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to patch the vulnerability. For devices that cannot receive official updates, consider network-level filtering of untrusted media content or device replacement.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 5.1.1 LMY48T or later

  1. Navigate to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) on the Android device
  2. Tap on System Updates or Check for Updates
  3. Download and install the Android 5.1.1 LMY48T or later system update
  4. Restart the device after the update completes
  5. Verify the Android version is 5.1.1 or higher by checking Settings > About Phone

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3872 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data