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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-11044

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with L(5.0/5.1) and M(6.0) (with Fingerprint support) software. The check of an application's signature can be bypassed during installation. The Samsung ID is SVE-2016-5923 (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 confidence

On Samsung mobile devices with Android L (5.0/5.1) and M (6.0) that include Fingerprint support, the signature verification mechanism for applications can be bypassed during the APK installation process. This allows potentially malicious applications to be installed as if they had a valid cryptographic signature, undermining Android's core application integrity controls.

MitigationApply Samsung's monthly security updates (SVE-2016-5923) which contain the signature verification fix. Until patched, avoid sideloading applications from untrusted sources and only install apps from the Samsung Galaxy Apps store or Google Play Store.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 5.0= 5.1= 6.0

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm device manufacturer is Samsung
    Check device settings under 'About phone' or 'About device' to verify the manufacturer is Samsung. This vulnerability specifically affects Samsung mobile devices.
    Affected if Device is not a Samsung product - the flaw is Samsung-specific and does not affect other Android device manufacturers
  2. Identify the Android version
    Navigate to Settings > About phone > Android version. The affected versions are Android 5.0, 5.1, and 6.0.
    Affected if Android version is 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 - versions outside this range are not affected by this specific CVE
  3. Verify Fingerprint support is present
    Check device settings for Fingerprint sensor availability. On Samsung devices, this is typically found under Settings > Lock screen and security > Fingerprints, or Settings > Security > Fingerprint. Confirm the device has a fingerprint sensor and Fingerprint feature is configured.
    Affected if Fingerprint support is present and enabled on the device - the flaw occurs during APK installation when Fingerprint authentication is used for signature verification
  4. Check for Samsung security patch SVE-2016-5923
    Navigate to Settings > About phone > Software information > Security patch level. Look for a date after the Samsung security update release. Alternatively, check Samsung's official security advisories for SVE-2016-5923 to confirm the patch has been applied.
    Affected if Security patch SVE-2016-5923 has NOT been applied - the device remains vulnerable if running the affected Android versions with Fingerprint support and missing this Samsung-specific fix

Device is affected if it is a Samsung mobile device running Android 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 with Fingerprint support enabled and Samsung security patch SVE-2016-5923 has not been applied.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Samsung's monthly security updates (SVE-2016-5923) which contain the signature verification fix. Until patched, avoid sideloading applications from untrusted sources and only install apps from the Samsung Galaxy Apps store or Google Play Store.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-11044 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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