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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-0841

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
media/libmedia/mediametadataretriever.cpp in mediaserver in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, and 6.x before 2016-04-01 mishandles cleared service binders, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted media file, aka internal bug 26040840.

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 critical memory corruption vulnerability exists in Android's media metadata retriever (mediametadataretriever.cpp) where cleared service binders are improperly handled. This allows a remote attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause a denial of service by serving a specially crafted media file that triggers a use-after-free condition in the mediaserver process.

MitigationApply the official Android security patch for CVE-2016-0841 (April 2016 bulletin). Users should update to Android 4.4.4+, 5.0.2+, 5.1.1+, or 6.0+ as appropriate for their device. Until patched, avoid opening media files from untrusted sources.

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:= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.1= 4.1.2= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.3= 4.3.1

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. Identify Android version
    Check the device's Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version is 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.1, 4.1.2, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.3, or 4.3.1 - then the device is in the affected range
  2. Verify mediaserver process is active
    Run 'ps' or check process list for 'mediaserver' process: adb shell ps -A | grep mediaserver
    Affected if The mediaserver process is running (this is the process that contains the vulnerable mediametadataretriever code)
  3. Check if media processing is accessible
    Confirm the mediaserver service is accessible by testing media metadata retrieval APIs or attempting to open a media file
    Affected if Media files can be processed - the vulnerability triggers when specially crafted media files are parsed by the media metadata retriever

If the device runs Android 4.0 through 4.3.1 and processes untrusted media files through the mediaserver, the environment is affected by this use-after-free vulnerability in the media metadata retriever.

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 the official Android security patch for CVE-2016-0841 (April 2016 bulletin). Users should update to Android 4.4.4+, 5.0.2+, 5.1.1+, or 6.0+ as appropriate for their device. Until patched, avoid opening media files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) or later; 5.0.2 or later for 5.0.x; 5.1.1 or later for 5.1.x; or the April 2016 security patch for Android 6.x

  1. 1. Backup all important data from the Android device to a secure location.
  2. 2. Navigate to Settings > About Phone on the Android device.
  3. 3. Tap on System Updates or Software Update to check for available updates.
  4. 4. If an update is available, download and install it. The minimum safe version to upgrade to is Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) or later.
  5. 5. After the update completes, verify the Android version by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version, confirming it shows 4.4.4 or higher.
  6. 6. Alternatively, if the device cannot receive official updates, consider flashing a custom ROM that is based on Android 4.4.4 or later, or upgrade to a newer device that supports more recent Android versions.
Caveat Some older devices may not support Android 4.4.4 or later updates from the carrier/OEM; legacy apps designed for older Android APIs may have compatibility issues with newer versions

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
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA5.0 h
33.0 hours of engineering $5,760
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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-2016-0841 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