CVE-2016-6717
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 · uneditedAn elevation of privilege vulnerability in Mediaserver in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-11-01, and 7.0 before 2016-11-01 could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. This issue is rated as Moderate because it first requires exploitation of a separate vulnerability. Android ID: A-31350239.
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 confidenceAn elevation of privilege vulnerability in Android's Mediaserver component allows a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. The vulnerability affects Android 4.x through 7.0 before November 2016 security patches. It is rated Moderate because exploitation requires first compromising a separate vulnerability to achieve code execution as a lower-privileged app.
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, < 4.4.4>= 5.0, < 5.0.2>= 5.1, < 5.1.1>= 6.0, <= 6.0.1= 7.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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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Check Android OS versionGo to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) > Android version. Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.version.release` in a terminal or ADB shell.Affected if The version falls within these ranges: 4.0 to 4.4.3, 5.0 to 5.0.1, 5.1 to 5.1.1, 6.0 to 6.0.1, or exactly 7.0.
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Alternatively, run `getprop ro.build.version.security_patch` in a terminal or ADB shell.Affected if The patch level is empty, shows a date before 2016-11-01, or is missing the November 2016 security update.
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Verify Mediaserver process is runningRun `ps | grep mediaserver` or `adb shell ps | grep mediaserver` to check if the Mediaserver process is active on the device.Affected if The Mediaserver process is running on a device meeting the version and patch level conditions above.
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Confirm device is not enterprise-managed with MDM enforcementCheck if the device is enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) system or has additional security controls by reviewing Settings > Security > Device administrators, or consult your organization's MDM inventory.Affected if The device is unpatched, not enrolled in an MDM that can apply compensating controls, and meets the affected version criteria.
A device is affected if it runs Android 4.0 through 4.4.3, 5.0 through 5.1.1, 6.0 through 6.0.1, or exactly 7.0, and its security patch level predates the November 2016 update.
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 data4.4.45.0.25.1.1
Apply the Android security patch released November 2016 or later. Organizations should inventory affected devices, verify patch levels have been applied, and consider network-level controls or device replacement for end-of-life devices that cannot receive updates.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2016-6717 — 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-2016-6717 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
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