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Lg MobileOperating system · Lg

CVE-2016-10135

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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
An issue was discovered on LG devices using the MTK chipset with L(5.0/5.1), M(6.0/6.0.1), and N(7.0) software, and RCA Voyager Tablet, BLU Advance 5.0, and BLU R1 HD devices. The MTKLogger app with a package name of com.mediatek.mtklogger has application components that are accessible to any application that resides on the device. Namely, the com.mediatek.mtklogger.framework.LogReceiver and com.mediatek.mtklogger.framework.MTKLoggerService application components are exported since they contain an intent filter, are not protected by a custom permission, and do not explicitly set the android:exported attribute to false. Therefore, these components are exported by default and are thus accessible to any third party application by using android.content.Intent object for communication. These application components can be used to start and stop the logs using Intent objects with embedded data. The available logs are the GPS log, modem log, network log, and mobile log. The base directory that contains the directories for the 4 types of logs is /sdcard/mtklog which makes them accessible to apps that require the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. The GPS log contains the GPS coordinates of the user as well as a timestamp for the coordinates. The modem log contains AT commands and their parameters which allow the user's outgoing and incoming calls and text messages to be obtained. The network log is a tcpdump network capture. The mobile log contains the Android log, which is not available to third-party apps as of Android 4.1. The LG ID is LVE-SMP-160019.

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

The MTKLogger app (com.mediatek.mtklogger) on affected LG and other Android devices exports the LogReceiver and MTKLoggerService components without proper permission protection. Any third-party app can send Intent messages to start/stop logging, then read sensitive data from /sdcard/mtklog including GPS coordinates with timestamps, AT commands revealing call/SMS activity, tcpdump network captures, and Android system logs.

MitigationThe OEM should set android:exported="false" on these components or implement a custom permission. Users should avoid installing untrusted apps and enterprises may use MDM to block or disable the MTKLogger app.

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
Lg MobileOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 5.1= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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 MTKLogger app is installed
    Run 'pm list packages | grep mtklogger' via ADB shell, or manually check if com.mediatek.mtklogger appears in Settings > Apps
    Affected if The package com.mediatek.mtklogger is present on the device
  2. Confirm Android OS version is affected
    Check device Android version in Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Android version is 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, or 7.0
  3. Verify MTKLogger components are exported
    Use 'dumpsys package com.mediatek.mtklogger' via ADB shell to inspect component permissions; look for LogReceiver and MTKLoggerService entries and check if android:exported is true or unset
    Affected if LogReceiver or MTKLoggerService have no custom permission requirement (android:protectionLevel not set to signature or custom) AND android:exported is not explicitly false
  4. Check for sensitive log directories
    Run 'ls -la /sdcard/mtklog/' via ADB shell to see if the log directory exists
    Affected if Directory /sdcard/mtklog/ exists and contains subdirectories with logs

A device is affected if it runs Android 5.0-7.0, has MTKLogger (com.mediatek.mtklogger) installed, and the app's LogReceiver/MTKLoggerService components are exported without permission protection.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

The OEM should set android:exported="false" on these components or implement a custom permission. Users should avoid installing untrusted apps and enterprises may use MDM to block or disable the MTKLogger app.

Fix this in Lg Mobile Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2016-10135 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
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