CVE-2016-11043
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with M(6.0) software. The S/MIME implementation in EAS uses DES (where 3DES is intended). The Samsung ID is SVE-2016-5871 (June 2016).
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 confidenceSamsung mobile devices running Android M(6.0) use DES for S/MIME email encryption in Exchange ActiveSync when 3DES was intended. DES uses a 56-bit key making it cryptographically weak and susceptible to brute-force attacks, allowing attackers to potentially decrypt sensitive email communications.
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= 6.0CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 device manufacturerCheck the device settings to confirm the device is a Samsung mobile device. On Android, go to Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or Model.Affected if The device is not a Samsung manufacturer, the vulnerability does not apply.
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Verify Android versionCheck the Android version by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Confirm the version is exactly 6.0 (Marshmallow).Affected if The Android version is not 6.0, the device is not in the affected version range.
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Check for Exchange ActiveSync email configurationCheck if the device has an email account configured using Exchange ActiveSync. This is typically found in Settings > Accounts > Exchange ActiveSync or within the Samsung Email app settings.Affected if No Exchange ActiveSync account is configured, the S/MIME encryption feature is not in use and the flaw cannot be triggered.
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Verify S/MIME encryption is enabledInspect the email account settings to determine if S/MIME encryption is enabled for the Exchange ActiveSync account. Look for S/MIME or encryption settings within the email account configuration.Affected if S/MIME encryption is not enabled, the cryptographic weakness is not actively exploitable for that account.
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Identify the cipher in useExamine the email encryption configuration or logs to determine which cipher is being used for S/MIME. The vulnerability exists because DES (not 3DES) is being used for encryption.Affected if The cipher is DES, the device is confirmed vulnerable to the cryptographic weakness described in the CVE.
A device is affected if it is a Samsung mobile device running Android 6.0 with an Exchange ActiveSync account configured and S/MIME encryption enabled using the weak DES cipher.
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 dataUntil Samsung releases a firmware patch, avoid transmitting highly sensitive information via S/MIME on affected devices or consider using alternative mobile device management solutions that enforce stronger cryptographic ciphers.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-11043 — 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-2016-11043 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