CVE-2016-3741
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 · uneditedThe H.264 decoder in mediaserver in Android 6.x before 2016-07-01 does not initialize certain slice data, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted media file, aka internal bug 28165661.
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 confidenceThe H.264 decoder in Android's mediaserver component fails to initialize certain slice data structures during media processing. When decoding crafted H.264 media files, this uninitialized memory is processed, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited for arbitrary code execution in the mediaserver context.
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= 6.0= 6.0.1CVSS 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
- 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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Check Android OS versionRun 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release' or go to Settings > About Phone > Android versionAffected if The version shows 6.0 or 6.0.1 specifically (not 6.0.2 or higher)
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Verify Android security patch levelRun 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' or check Settings > About Phone > Security patch levelAffected if The patch level is earlier than July 2016 (should show 2016-07-01 or later for the fix)
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Confirm mediaserver component existsRun 'adb shell ps -A | grep mediaserver' to verify the mediaserver process is runningAffected if The mediaserver process is active and the Android version is 6.0/6.0.1 with pre-July-2016 patches
A device is affected if it runs Android 6.0 or 6.0.1 with a security patch level earlier than July 2016, as the uninitialized slice data vulnerability in the H.264 decoder requires both the vulnerable version range and unpatched mediaserver component.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the Android security patch released July 2016 (or later) to address the uninitialized slice data in the H.264 decoder. Until patched, avoid processing untrusted media files with Android media framework.
Android 6.0.2 or later with July 2016 Security Patch Level
- Check the current Android security patch level on the device (Settings > About Phone > Security patch level)
- Ensure the device has received the July 2016 Android Security Bulletin patch or later
- If the device is on Android 6.0 or 6.0.1 and cannot update to a later Android version, verify with the device manufacturer that the July 2016 security update has been applied
- For Android 6.0.1 devices, the fix is delivered through the monthly security update system - update to the latest available security patch level
- If no update is available from the device manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version if the device hardware supports it
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3741 — 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-2016-3741 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