dbcve.org
AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-3750

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-07-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
libs/binder/Parcel.cpp in the Parcels Framework APIs 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 2016-07-01 does not validate the return value of the dup system call, which allows attackers to bypass an isolation protection mechanism via a crafted application, aka internal bug 28395952.

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 · moderate confidence

The vulnerability exists in libs/binder/Parcel.cpp within Android's Parcel Framework APIs. The code fails to validate the return value of the dup() system call, which could allow a malicious application to bypass Android's sandbox isolation protections by exploiting improper error handling.

MitigationApply the July 2016 Android security patch (or subsequent patches) to address the unvalidated dup() system call in Parcel.cpp, which closes the isolation bypass vector.

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:= 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= 4.3.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify Android version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in a shell or check Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if Version equals 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
  2. Verify binder parcel handling is in use
    Check if any system service utilizing the binder IPC framework is active (e.g., Activity Manager, Package Manager, or other system services)
    Affected if Binder-based inter-process communication is active on a vulnerable Android version
  3. Confirm no security patch applied
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to check the installed security patch level
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than July 2016 or the property is not set on an affected Android version

The environment is affected if the device runs Android version 4.0 through 4.3.1 and lacks the July 2016 security patch addressing the unvalidated dup() in Parcel.cpp.

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 the July 2016 Android security patch (or subsequent patches) to address the unvalidated dup() system call in Parcel.cpp, which closes the isolation bypass vector.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,192.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3750 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-3750 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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