CVE-2016-3766
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 · uneditedMPEG4Extractor.cpp in libstagefright in mediaserver 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 check whether memory allocation succeeds, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device hang or reboot) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 28471206.
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 confidenceThis is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in libstagefright's MPEG4Extractor component. The code fails to check whether memory allocation succeeds when processing crafted MPEG4 media files, leading to use of NULL pointers that cause device hang or reboot (denial of service).
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 versionGo to Settings > About Phone (or About Tablet) and look at the Android version field, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The version 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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Confirm libstagefright component presenceCheck for the presence of libstagefright.so library in /system/lib/ or /vendor/lib/ via ADB shell using 'ls -la /system/lib/libstagefright*'Affected if The libstagefright library exists on the device, indicating the vulnerable media processing component is present
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Verify MPEG4Extractor module existsInspect the library for MPEG4Extractor symbols or check /system/lib/ for libstagefright.so and confirm media codecs are available via 'getprop media.stagefright.*'Affected if MPEG4 media extraction capability is available through the libstagefright framework
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Confirm media processing is enabledTest if the device can process MPEG4 files by attempting to play a standard MP4/M4V file, or check if com.android.music or other media apps functionAffected if MPEG4 media playback or processing features are functional on the device
The device is affected if it runs Android version 4.0 through 4.3.1 and contains the libstagefright media processing framework with MPEG4 extraction capabilities enabled.
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 Android security patches released July 2016 or later for affected versions (4.4.4+, 5.0.2+, 5.1.1+, 6.x). The fix requires adding proper NULL checks after memory allocations in MPEG4Extractor.cpp.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3766 — 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-2016-3766 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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