CVE-2016-10388
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 configuration vulnerability exists when loading a 3rd-party QTEE application.
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 configuration vulnerability in Qualcomm Android devices with Linux kernel allows 3rd-party applications to be loaded into the QTEE (Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment). This could enable untrusted code to execute within a trusted security context, potentially bypassing TEE security 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
- 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 device processor architectureCheck if the device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. On Android, this can be done by checking /proc/cpuinfo or using a system information app to view processor details.Affected if The device uses a Qualcomm processor and runs Android - this is a prerequisite for the QTEE vulnerability.
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Verify QTEE presenceCheck if the Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment (QTEE) is present on the device. This may be indicated by the presence of tee* services in /proc/ or by checking for qsee* or tee* entries in /sys/kernel/debug/ if debugging is enabled.Affected if QTEE is present on the device, making the configuration vulnerability applicable.
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Assess TEE application loading policyExamine whether the device allows loading 3rd-party applications into the TEE context. This typically requires checking TEE daemon configuration or permissions related to the trusted application framework.Affected if 3rd-party applications are permitted to be loaded into the QTEE context, which is the vulnerable configuration described in this CVE.
The user is affected if they are running Android on a Qualcomm-based device where 3rd-party applications can be loaded into the QTEE, as this allows untrusted code to execute within the trusted security boundary.
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 vendor-provided patches/updates from Qualcomm and device manufacturers. Until patches are available, avoid loading or installing untrusted 3rd-party applications that request QTEE access.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10388 — 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-2016-10388 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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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.
- 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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