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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-6621

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-12-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
SystemUI in Android 5.x before 5.1.1 LMY48Z and 6.0 before 2015-12-01 allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, as demonstrated by obtaining Signature or SignatureOrSystem access, aka internal bug 23909438.

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

A vulnerability in SystemUI in Android 5.x before 5.1.1 LMY48Z and 6.0 before the December 2015 security patch allows malicious applications to escalate privileges to Signature or SignatureOrSystem level, giving attackers system-level access beyond normal app capabilities.

MitigationUpdate affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48Z or later, or apply the December 2015 security patch for Android 6.0 to remediate this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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:= 5.0= 5.1= 6.0

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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
    Navigate to Settings > About Phone > Build number, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version shows 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 (initial releases before updates)
  2. Verify Android 5.x specific build
    Run 'getprop ro.build.display.id' via ADB to check the exact build (e.g., LMY47V, LMY48G)
    Affected if Build is earlier than LMY48Z (for 5.1 branch) or is 5.0.x
  3. Check Android 6.0 security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB or check Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level
    Affected if Patch level is empty or shows a date before December 2015
  4. Confirm SystemUI is present
    Verify the SystemUI application exists by checking /system/app/SystemUI.apk or /system/priv-app/SystemUI/SystemUI.apk
    Affected if SystemUI.apk is present (standard on all affected Android versions)

Device is affected if running Android 5.0, Android 5.1 before build LMY48Z, or Android 6.0 with a security patch level earlier than December 2015.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48Z or later, or apply the December 2015 security patch for Android 6.0 to remediate this privilege escalation vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 5.1.1 LMY48Z (for 5.x) or December 2015 security patch/6.0.1+ (for 6.0)

  1. Check current Android version by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. For Android 5.0/5.1 devices: Upgrade to Android 5.1.1 LMY48Z or later via system update (Settings > About Phone > System Update)
  3. For Android 6.0 devices: Apply the December 2015 security update or upgrade to a later Android version (6.0.1 or 7.x)
  4. Verify the update was applied successfully by checking the Android security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security patch level
  5. If OTA update is not available, contact device manufacturer or carrier for update availability
Caveat Android version upgrades may cause incompatibility with older applications; ensure critical apps are compatible before upgrading

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2015-6621 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