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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2016-6684

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-10-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The kernel in Android before 2016-10-05 on Nexus 5, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, and Android One devices allows attackers to obtain sensitive information via a crafted application, aka internal bug 30148243.

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

A kernel-level information disclosure vulnerability in Android versions prior to the October 2016 security patch. The flaw allows a locally-installed crafted application to access sensitive information that should be protected, affecting Nexus 5, 5X, 6, 6P, 9, Nexus Player, and Android One devices.

MitigationApply the Android security patch level 2016-10-05 or later to affected devices, or upgrade to a supported Android version that includes this fix.

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:= 7.0

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Check Android version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run `getprop ro.build.version.release` via ADB shell
    Affected if Version is exactly 7.0 (other versions are not affected)
  2. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` via ADB shell
    Affected if Patch level is earlier than 2016-10-05 or not displayed (missing/older patch)
  3. Verify device model
    Check Settings > About Phone > Model number, or run `getprop ro.product.model` via ADB shell
    Affected if Device is Nexus 5, 5X, 6, 6P, 9, Nexus Player, or Android One running Android 7.0

Affected if running Android 7.0 with a security patch level prior to October 5, 2016 on a vulnerable device model.

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 Android security patch level 2016-10-05 or later to affected devices, or upgrade to a supported Android version that includes this fix.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2016-6684 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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