CVE-2016-2440
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 · uneditedlibs/binder/IPCThreadState.cpp in Binder in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, and 6.x before 2016-05-01 mishandles object references, which allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka internal bug 27252896.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in the Android Binder IPC (Inter-Process Communication) subsystem where IPCThreadState.cpp improperly handles object references. This flaw allows a malicious or crafted application to escalate privileges by manipulating object references in Binder transactions, potentially gaining unauthorized access to system-level capabilities.
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= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.1= 4.1.2= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.3= 4.3.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Android OS versionGo to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version listed is 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.1, 4.1.2, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.3, or 4.3.1
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Build number (tap 7 times to enable), then view Build number and look for security patch date, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shellAffected if The security patch level is earlier than May 1, 2016 or the field is empty/unavailable
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Verify kernel Binder driver presenceRun 'ls -la /dev/binder' via ADB shell to confirm the Binder device node exists (it is a core Android IPC component)Affected if The device node exists (which is true for nearly all Android devices - this confirms the attack surface is present)
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Check build fingerprint for patch dateRun 'getprop ro.build.fingerprint' or 'getprop ro.build.description' via ADB shell to see the full build string which may contain date informationAffected if The build string indicates a date before May 2016 or does not include the May 2016 security update
The device is affected if it runs Android 4.0 through 4.3.1 and has not received the May 2016 Android security update (security patch level earlier than 2016-05-01).
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 Android security updates released on or after May 1, 2016 (Android 4.4.4, 5.0.2, 5.1.1, or later for respective branches). For enterprise environments, inventory all affected devices and ensure they receive the vendor-supplied OS/security patches.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2440 — 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-2016-2440 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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