CVE-2016-3796
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 MediaTek power driver in Android before 2016-07-05 on Android One devices allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka Android internal bug 29008443 and MediaTek internal bug ALPS02677244.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in the MediaTek power driver in Android on One devices allows a crafted application to escalate privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper access control or input validation in the kernel-level power management driver, enabling a local attacker to gain elevated (root) privileges without authentication.
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<= 6.0.1CVSS 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 the chipset manufacturerCheck the device specifications or use system information to determine if the device uses a MediaTek (MTK) processor/chipset. This is the primary prerequisite for this vulnerability.Affected if The device does NOT use a MediaTek chipset - this vulnerability only affects MediaTek-based Android devices.
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Verify the Android versionCheck the Android OS version installed on the device (Settings > About Phone > Android version). Compare against the affected range.Affected if The Android version is GREATER than 6.0.1 - devices running Android 7.0 or later are not affected by this specific CVE.
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Confirm the power management driver presenceExamine if the MediaTek power management kernel driver is present on the device. This driver (ALPS02677244) must exist for the vulnerability to be exploitable.Affected if The MediaTek power driver is not present - the vulnerability only applies when this specific driver module is loaded on the device.
A device is affected only if it combines all three conditions: it uses a MediaTek chipset, runs Android 6.0.1 or earlier, and contains the vulnerable MediaTek power management driver (ALPS02677244).
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 patch released July 5, 2016 or later, which contains the fix for this MediaTek power driver vulnerability (ALPS02677244). For end-of-life devices that cannot receive updates, network segmentation and restricting app installations to trusted sources may reduce risk.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3796 — 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-2016-3796 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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