CVE-2016-6910
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 non-existent notification listener vulnerability was introduced in the initial Android 5.0.2 builds for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge devices, but the vulnerability can persist on the device even after the device has been upgraded to an Android 5.1.1 or 6.0.1 build. The vulnerable system app gives a non-existent app the ability to read the notifications from the device, which a third-party app can utilize if it uses a package name of com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget. This vulnerability allows an unprivileged third-party app to obtain the text of the user's notifications, which tend to contain personal data.
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 Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge's system app allows any third-party app using the package name 'com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget' to read the text of user notifications. This flaw was introduced in Android 5.0.2 builds and persists through upgrades to 5.1.1 and 6.0.1, exposing personal data contained in notifications.
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= 5.0.2= 5.1.1= 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your device modelCheck Settings > About Phone > Device name or model number. This vulnerability affects only the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.Affected if The device is not a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (the vulnerability is specific to this model)
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Check the Android versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version. Verify the exact version number.Affected if The Android version is exactly 5.0.2, 5.1.1, or 6.0.1 (these are the affected builds)
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Verify the vulnerable package existsUse a file explorer or adb command 'pm list packages | grep portalservicewidget' to check if the package 'com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget' is installed on the device.Affected if The package com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget is present on the device
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Review installed third-party appsCheck Settings > Apps > Downloaded. Look for any unfamiliar or suspicious applications, particularly those requesting notification access.Affected if Unknown third-party apps with notification permissions are installed
You are affected if you use a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge running Android 5.0.2, 5.1.1, or 6.0.1 with the vulnerable com.samsung.android.app.portalservicewidget package present on the device.
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 dataThis issue requires a Samsung firmware/security update to patch the vulnerable system app. Users should monitor for and apply available Samsung security patches and be cautious about granting notification permissions to unknown apps.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6910 — 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-2016-6910 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data