AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-10235

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A denial of service vulnerability in the Qualcomm WiFi driver. Product: Android. Versions: Android kernel. Android ID: A-34390620. References: QC-CR#1046409.

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

A denial of service vulnerability in the Qualcomm WiFi driver for Android kernel allows remote network attackers to crash the WiFi subsystem, potentially causing persistent loss of wireless connectivity. The vulnerability likely involves improper handling of malformed WiFi frames or management packets leading to a kernel panic or service disruption.

MitigationApply Android security patches released after the vulnerability disclosure; contact device OEMs for kernel and driver updates specific to affected Qualcomm WiFi chipsets.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 WiFi chipset vendor
    Check device specifications or use terminal command 'getprop ro.board.platform' or 'getprop ro.hardware' to identify the chipset. Alternatively, search device model for 'Qualcomm WiFi' or 'Qualcomm Atheros' in hardware specifications.
    Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm WiFi chipset (Qualcomm Atheros or similar Qualcomm wireless chip)
  2. Confirm Android security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Build Number (tap 7 times), then Settings > System > Security > Security patch level. Note the date shown.
    Affected if The Security patch level is dated before the vendor release addressing CVE-2016-10235 (patch date varies by device/OEM)
  3. Check kernel version if accessible
    On rooted devices or via ADB, run 'uname -a' or check /proc/version to see kernel build details. Cross-reference with OEM kernel updates.
    Affected if Running an older kernel build that has not received the Qualcomm WiFi driver fix for this vulnerability

A device is affected if it contains a Qualcomm WiFi chipset AND has not received the vendor-specific security patch or kernel/driver update addressing this CVE.

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

Apply Android security patches released after the vulnerability disclosure; contact device OEMs for kernel and driver updates specific to affected Qualcomm WiFi chipsets.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10235 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-10235 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