AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-10233

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-04
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
An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm video driver. Product: Android. Versions: Android kernel. Android ID: A-34389926. References: QC-CR#897452.

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 · moderate confidence

An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Qualcomm video driver for Android kernel. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to potentially gain elevated system privileges through the video driver component.

MitigationApply the latest Android security patch level from the device manufacturer that addresses this vulnerability. Android users should ensure their devices are running the most recent system updates.

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:all versions

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 the OS
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or check the device Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The device is not running Google Android (this CVE only affects Android)
  2. Check for Qualcomm video driver presence
    Check /proc/modules or use 'lsmod' to see if a Qualcomm video driver module (such as 'vfx', 'vdec', or similar video-related kernel modules) is loaded
    Affected if The Qualcomm video driver module is not loaded (the vulnerability requires this specific component)
  3. Verify the security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to retrieve the installed Android security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than March 2017 (the month when this CVE was addressed in Android security updates)

The environment is affected if the device runs Google Android with a Qualcomm video driver module loaded and has a security patch level earlier than the fix date.

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 latest Android security patch level from the device manufacturer that addresses this vulnerability. Android users should ensure their devices are running the most recent system updates.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply Android monthly security patch level from March 2017 or later (Android 7.0+ with March 2017 security patch recommended)

  1. Check the Android Security Bulletin for the month addressing Android ID A-34389926 - this vulnerability was patched in the March 2017 Android Security Bulletin
  2. Apply the latest Android monthly security update available for your device
  3. If your device is no longer receiving monthly updates, contact your device OEM for a patch or consider upgrading to a supported device
  4. Verify the patch level on your device: Go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number and ensure it reflects the patched Android version
  5. For enterprise environments, ensure mobile device management (MDM) policies enforce regular security updates
Caveat Patching is a security update and should not introduce breaking changes; however, older devices may not receive updates

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-10233 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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