Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2016-8391
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 the Qualcomm sound driver could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of the kernel. This issue is rated as High because it first requires compromising a privileged process. Product: Android. Versions: Kernel-3.10, Kernel-3.18. Android ID: A-31253255. References: QC-CR#1072166.
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 kernel-level privilege escalation vulnerability in the Qualcomm sound driver allows a local malicious application that has already compromised a privileged process to execute arbitrary code within kernel context. The vulnerability stems from improper validation or access controls in the audio subsystem driver used in Android devices running Kernel-3.10 and Kernel-3.18.
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
= 3.10= 3.18CVSS 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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Identify the kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to retrieve the running kernel versionAffected if The kernel version is exactly 3.10 or exactly 3.18 (not a later patched version)
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Confirm Qualcomm hardware platformCheck /proc/cpuinfo or use 'getprop ro.hardware' to identify if the device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsetAffected if The device uses Qualcomm hardware that utilizes the affected audio driver
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Verify audio driver in useCheck /proc/asound/cards or lsmod to see if the snd_soc_msm or similar Qualcomm audio module is loadedAffected if The Qualcomm audio subsystem driver (snd_soc_msm) is present and loaded
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Check security patch levelRun 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to retrieve the Android security patch dateAffected if The patch level is earlier than the December 2016 security update that contains the fix
A device is affected if it runs kernel 3.10 or 3.18, uses Qualcomm audio hardware, and has a security patch level before December 2016.
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 dataApply the monthly Android security patch level that includes the fix for A-31253255/QC-CR#1072166. Organizations should prioritize patching devices running affected kernel versions and consider kernel version upgrades where patches are unavailable.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8391 — 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-2016-8391 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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