CVE-2016-10385
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 Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a use-after-free vulnerability exists in IMS RCS.
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 use-after-free memory corruption vulnerability in the IMS RCS (IP Multimedia Subsystem Rich Communication Services) component within Qualcomm Android products using the Linux kernel. This memory safety flaw allows an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by freeing memory that is still being accessed.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the chipset vendorCheck /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.hardware' to determine if the device uses a Qualcomm chipset. The vulnerability exists only in Qualcomm implementations of the IMS RCS component.Affected if The device does not use a Qualcomm chipset - this vulnerability is specific to Qualcomm silicon.
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Check if IMS RCS is enabledLook for IMS RCS-related settings in Android settings under 'Connections' > 'Mobile networks' > 'IMS' or check for the presence of the ims process using 'ps' command. Alternatively, check for /system/lib/libims.so or similar IMS libraries.Affected if IMS RCS is disabled or not present on the device - the vulnerability only applies when this component is active.
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Determine kernel version and patch statusRun 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to obtain the kernel version. Compare against the Android security patch level shown in Settings > About phone > Android security patch level.Affected if The kernel is unpatched and the Android security patch level is before the fix date (June 2016 or later for this CVE).
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Check for vulnerable kernel moduleList loaded kernel modules with 'lsmod' and check for IMS-related modules. The vulnerable code resides in the IMS RCS kernel component. Check /sys/kernel/debug/imei for traces of the RCS daemon.Affected if IMS-related kernel modules are loaded and the system lacks the June 2016 Qualcomm CAF patches.
A user is affected if they have a Qualcomm-based Android device with IMS RCS enabled and an unpatched kernel (pre-June 2016 security patch level).
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 Qualcomm/CAF (Code Aurora Forum) kernel patches and Android security updates addressing this vulnerability. Restrict network exposure of RCS services where possible until patches are available.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10385 — 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-2016-10385 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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