CVE-2015-6623
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 · uneditedWi-Fi in Android 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 24872703.
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 confidenceA privilege escalation vulnerability in Android 6.0's Wi-Fi component allows a malicious application to obtain Signature or SignatureOrSystem level privileges. This grants the attacker system-level access normally reserved for privileged system components, bypassing normal Android permission boundaries.
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= 6.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Android version is 6.0Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version shows exactly 6.0 (Marshmallow). Versions before 6.0 or after 6.0 are not affected by this specific CVE.
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Confirm Wi-Fi functionality is present and enabledCheck if the device has Wi-Fi capability (Settings > Wi-Fi) and verify Wi-Fi is turned on. Also verify the Wi-Fi service is running via 'dumpsys wifi' in ADB shellAffected if Wi-Fi is enabled and the Wi-Fi service is active. If Wi-Fi is completely disabled at the hardware or software level, the attack surface may be reduced.
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Identify the Wi-Fi service version and patch levelRun 'dumpsys package com.android.server.wifi' via ADB to check the Wi-Fi service details, and check the Android security patch level at Settings > About Phone > Security patch levelAffected if The device is running Android 6.0 with a security patch level earlier than December 2015. Devices with December 2015 or later patches are not vulnerable.
A device is affected if it is running Android 6.0 (exact version), has Wi-Fi enabled, and has a security patch level earlier than December 2015.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply the Android security patch released December 2015 or later. Until patched, limit device access to trusted applications and avoid installing apps from unknown sources.
Android 6.0 with December 2015 Security Patch Level or later (preferably Android 6.0.1 or higher with subsequent security patches)
- Navigate to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) on the Android device
- Check the Android version and Security patch level displayed
- Go to Settings > System > Software Update (or Settings > About Phone > Software Update)
- Check for available updates and download any pending system updates
- Install the latest Android update which includes the December 2015 security patch or later
- After updating, verify the Security patch level reflects December 2015 or newer in Settings > About Phone
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-6623 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-6623 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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