dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-3873

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 bugs 23016072, 23248776, 23247055, 22845824, 22008959, 21814993, 21048776, 20718524, 20674674, 22388975, 20674086, 21443020, and 22077698, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-7716.

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 in Android before 5.1.1 LMY48T contains multiple memory corruption vulnerabilities that can be triggered by a crafted media file, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This involves 13 internal bugs affecting media parsing.

MitigationUpgrade affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to apply the Stagefright patches. For devices that cannot be updated, consider network-level filtering of untrusted media content.

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. Identify the Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) > Android version. Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.version.release` in a terminal or ADB shell.
    Affected if The reported version is 5.1 or earlier (such as 5.0, 4.4, 4.3, etc.)
  2. Check the build number or security patch level
    In Settings > About Phone, note the Build number. Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.display.id` or `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADB.
    Affected if The build number is earlier than LMY48T (for 5.1 branch) or the security patch level is earlier than August 2015; devices on Android 5.1.1 with build LMY48T or later are patched.
  3. Confirm the device model and carrier update status
    Check Settings > About Phone > Model number and Settings > Software Update (or System Updates) to see if any updates are available.
    Affected if The device is on Android 5.1 or earlier and the carrier or manufacturer has not released the LMY48T update for that specific model.
  4. Verify libstagefright is present (always present in affected versions)
    Check for the existence of the library by running `ls /system/lib/libstagefright.so` via ADB shell or file manager.
    Affected if The library exists (this is true for all Android versions up to 5.1, but the vulnerability is only exploitable in versions before the patch).

You are affected if your device runs Android 5.1 or earlier and the build number is before LMY48T; if the device shows Android 5.1.1 with build LMY48T or later, it includes the patches for these 13 libstagefright bugs.

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

Upgrade affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to apply the Stagefright patches. For devices that cannot be updated, consider network-level filtering of untrusted media content.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 5.1.1 LMY48T or later

  1. 1. Check current Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. If running Android 5.1 or earlier, initiate a system update through Settings > About Phone > Check for updates
  3. 3. If an over-the-air update is not available, contact the device manufacturer or carrier for the Android 5.1.1 LMY48T security update
  4. 4. Alternatively, manually flash the device with a custom ROM or factory image containing Android 5.1.1 (LMY48T) or later
Caveat Upgrading Android OS versions may reset device settings, incompatibility with carrier-specific apps, or void warranty if using unofficial firmware

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-3873 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-3873 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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