CVE-2016-6724
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 · uneditedA denial of service vulnerability in the Input Manager Service 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 cause the device to continually reboot. This issue is rated as Moderate because it is a temporary denial of service that requires a factory reset to fix. Android ID: A-30568284.
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 confidenceA denial of service vulnerability in Android's Input Manager Service allows a locally-installed malicious application to trigger continuous device reboots. The vulnerability affects Android versions 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before November 2016, and 7.0 before November 2016. Recovery requires a factory reset, making this a severe impact DoS for unpatched devices.
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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Determine Android versionGo to Settings > About Phone (or About Device) > Android version. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell or terminal app.Affected if Version is 4.0 to 4.4.3, 5.0 to 5.0.1, 5.1 to 5.1.0, 6.0 to 6.0.1, or 7.0 (any subversion before November 2016)
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Check security patch levelGo to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level. Alternatively, run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell or terminal app.Affected if Patch level is earlier than November 2016 or not displayed (indicating unpatched device)
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Observe for reboot loop symptomsNote if the device enters an automatic restart cycle that repeats continuously without user intervention, especially after installing a new application.Affected if Device exhibits continuous unexplained reboot loops
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Verify Input Manager Service behaviorAfter a reboot loop begins, attempt to boot into safe mode (hold power button, then press and hold volume down during boot) to temporarily halt third-party apps and observe if reboots stop.Affected if Reboots cease in safe mode but resume in normal mode, suggesting a malicious app is exploiting the vulnerability
Device is likely affected if running Android version 4.0-4.4.3, 5.0-5.0.1, 5.1-5.1.0, 6.0-6.0.1, or 7.0 without the November 2016 security patch, especially if experiencing unexplained reboot loops.
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 November 2016 Android security patch or later to all affected devices. Until patched, monitor for unexplained reboot loops which may indicate exploitation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6724 — 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-2016-6724 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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