dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-0835

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-18
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
decoder/impeg2d_dec_hdr.c in mediaserver in Android 6.x before 2016-04-01 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted media file that triggers a certain negative value, aka internal bug 26070014.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in the MPEG-2 decoder (impeg2d_dec_hdr.c) within Android's mediaserver. A crafted media file containing a specific negative value triggers heap corruption, allowing remote code execution or denial of service via the mediaserver process.

MitigationApply Android security patch from April 2016 or later to mediaserver. As a defense-in-depth measure, evaluate disabling unnecessary media handling services or implementing network segmentation to limit exposure to malicious media files.

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:= 6.0= 6.0.1

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Verify Android OS version
    Check system settings or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in shell to confirm the installed Android version
    Affected if Version is exactly 6.0 or 6.0.1 (other versions are not affected)
  2. Confirm mediaserver process is running
    Run 'ps | grep mediaserver' or check via /proc directory to verify the mediaserver daemon is active
    Affected if mediaserver process is running and handling media operations (vulnerability resides in this component)
  3. Check for MPEG-2 decoding capability
    Inspect if the device has MPEG-2 codec support enabled - check /system/etc/media_codecs.xml or equivalent codec configuration files for MPEG-2 decoder entries
    Affected if MPEG-2 video decoder is available on the device (the flaw is in the impeg2d_dec_hdr.c decoder component)
  4. Identify mediaserver component version
    Check mediaserver binary or library versions in /system/lib/ or /system/lib64/ for libimpeg2d or similar MPEG-2 decoding libraries
    Affected if The mediaserver contains the vulnerable libimpeg2d library from Android 6.0/6.0.1 base build

Device is affected if running Android 6.0 or 6.0.1 with mediaserver active and MPEG-2 decoding capability present, as the vulnerability exists specifically in this version combination.

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

Apply Android security patch from April 2016 or later to mediaserver. As a defense-in-depth measure, evaluate disabling unnecessary media handling services or implementing network segmentation to limit exposure to malicious media files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 7.0 (Nougat) or later, or April 2016 security patch level

  1. 1. Verify the current Android version on the affected device (Settings > About Phone > Android version)
  2. 2. Check if a system software update is available (Settings > About Phone > System updates > Check for updates)
  3. 3. If updates are available, download and install the latest Android security patch (April 2016 or later)
  4. 4. If no update is available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version such as Android 7.0 (Nougat) or later if the device hardware supports it
  5. 5. After update, verify the security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level shows April 2016 or later
Caveat Upgrading to a newer Android version may remove support for older applications or cause compatibility issues with device-specific features

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2016-0835 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