CVE-2016-10339
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 · uneditedIn all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, HLOS can overwite secure memory or read contents of the keystore.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Android CAF (Code Aurora Forum) Linux kernel releases allows the High Level Operating System (HLOS/Android userspace) to bypass secure memory protections, enabling unauthorized overwriting of secure memory regions and unauthorized reading of keystore contents. This represents a critical failure in the TrustZone/TEE isolation boundaries.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify CAF kernel usageCheck /proc/version or 'uname -a' output for 'CAF' or 'Code Aurora Forum' in the kernel version string. CAF kernels are commonly used on Qualcomm Snapdragon devices.Affected if The device runs a CAF (Code Aurora Forum) kernel build, as only CAF kernels are affected by this vulnerability.
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Confirm TEE/TrustZone presenceCheck for TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) drivers by looking for tee device nodes: ls -la /dev/tee* or /dev/tz* 2>/dev/null. Also check /sys/class/misc/ for tee entries.Affected if A TEE/TrustZone implementation is present on the device, which is required for this isolation bypass to be relevant.
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Verify secure memory isolationAttempt to access TEE device files from a non-root userspace context. Check if /dev/tee0 or similar TEE device nodes exist and can be opened by non-privileged applications without proper authentication.Affected if Userspace applications can open TEE device nodes without proper secure world authentication, indicating the isolation boundary is bypassed.
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Check keystore accessibilityExamine the keystore daemon (keymaster) and verify whether its memory contents or protected keys can be read from the HLOS (userspace) context. Look for any keystore data files or memory regions accessible from non-secure context.Affected if Keystore contents or protected cryptographic keys are readable or accessible from the Android userspace (HLOS) context, indicating TrustZone isolation failure.
A device is affected if it uses a CAF kernel with an active TEE/TrustZone implementation where the secure memory isolation between HLOS and the secure world can be bypassed from userspace, allowing unauthorized access to keystore contents.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply CAF kernel security patches for affected Android releases. Verify secure memory isolation is enforced and keystore contents cannot be accessed from HLOS context.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing24.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,232.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10339 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-10339 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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