dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2016-6759

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An elevation of privilege vulnerability in Qualcomm media codecs could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. This issue is rated as High because it could be used to gain local access to elevated capabilities, which are not normally accessible to a third-party application. Product: Android. Versions: Kernel-3.10, Kernel-3.18. Android ID: A-29982686. References: QC-CR#1055766.

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 confidence

An elevation of privilege vulnerability in Qualcomm's media codec implementation allows a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. The vulnerability exists in the media processing path and enables bypassing Android's application sandbox by exploiting the trusted media codec component.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security patch (QC-CR#1055766) through Android's monthly security update process. Users should ensure their devices receive the October 2016 Android security patch level or later, which contains the fix for this Qualcomm kernel vulnerability.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:= 3.10= 3.18

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the running kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel version is exactly 3.10 or 3.18, indicating the specific affected versions
  2. Confirm the kernel is Qualcomm-based
    Examine the full kernel version string from '/proc/version' for Qualcomm identifiers such as 'msm', 'snapdragon', or 'qcom' in the version information
    Affected if The kernel string contains Qualcomm identifiers, confirming this CVE applies to Qualcomm's media codec implementation in the Android kernel
  3. Verify the device is Android-based
    Check if the operating system is Android by examining '/system/build.prop' or using 'getprop ro.build.version.release'
    Affected if The device runs Android, as this vulnerability specifically allows bypassing Android's application sandbox through the media codec component
  4. Check if media codec kernel modules are present
    List loaded kernel modules using 'lsmod' and check for any media or codec-related modules (such as 'msm_media_api', 'vidc', or similar Qualcomm media components)
    Affected if Media codec modules from Qualcomm are loaded, indicating the vulnerable media processing path is active on the device

The device is affected if it runs Android on a Linux kernel version exactly 3.10 or 3.18 with a Qualcomm media codec implementation, since the vulnerability exists in the media processing path that enables bypassing Android's application sandbox.

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 vendor-supplied security patch (QC-CR#1055766) through Android's monthly security update process. Users should ensure their devices receive the October 2016 Android security patch level or later, which contains the fix for this Qualcomm kernel vulnerability.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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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-2016-6759 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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