CVE-2016-10438
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 Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Small Cell SoC, Snapdragon Mobile, and Snapdragon Wear FSM9055, IPQ4019, IPQ8064, MDM9206, MDM9607, MDM9635M, MDM9640, MDM9650, MSM8909W, QCA4531, QCA9980, SD 210/SD 212/SD 205, SD 400, SD 410/12, SD 425, SD 430, SD 450, SD 615/16/SD 415, SD 617, SD 625, SD 650/52, SD 808, SD 810, SD 820, SD 835, and SDX20, information exposure vulnerability when logging debug statement due to %p usage.
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 · high confidenceThis vulnerability allows information exposure through debug logging statements that use the %p format specifier, which leaks kernel memory addresses. This can help attackers bypass security mechanisms like ASLR by revealing pointer addresses in memory.
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 versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 device model and firmware versionDetermine the exact model number (Mdm9206, Mdm9607, Fsm9055, Ipq4019, Mdm9635m, Mdm9640, Mdm9650, or Qca4531) and its current firmware version through device administrative interface, CLI, or AT commandsAffected if Device model matches one of the listed affected Qualcomm products and firmware is present
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Check security patch levelLocate the security patch level or build date in the device firmware information (often visible in system settings, boot logs, or firmware metadata)Affected if Security patch level is earlier than 2018-04-05 or cannot be determined
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Verify debug logging configurationExamine the device logging configuration to determine if debug-level logging is enabled and whether kernel debug messages are being written to accessible logsAffected if Debug logging is enabled and kernel messages are being written to accessible log files or serial output
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Inspect logging statements for %p usageIf firmware binary or source code access is available, search for format strings containing %p specifier in logging statements within kernel or driver codeAffected if Debug logging statements using %p format specifier are present in the firmware
The device is affected if it runs one of the listed Qualcomm firmware models and has a security patch level earlier than 2018-04-05 with debug logging containing %p specifier enabled.
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 the 2018-04-05 or later security patch level to affected devices, or work with the device OEM/vendor to obtain and deploy firmware updates that remove %p usage from debug logging statements.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10438 — 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-2016-10438 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data