CVE-2016-8422
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 bootloader could enable a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within the context of the kernel. This issue is rated as Critical due to the possibility of a local permanent device compromise, which may require reflashing the operating system to repair the device. Product: Android. Versions: N/A. Android ID: A-31471220. References: QC-CR#979426.
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 privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Qualcomm bootloader that allows a malicious local application to execute arbitrary code in kernel context. This represents a critical security failure as the bootloader operates at the most privileged level before the operating system loads, enabling attackers to compromise the device at its most fundamental level.
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<= 7.1.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Android OS versionNavigate to Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shellAffected if The reported Android version is 7.1.0 or lower (7.1.0, 7.0, 6.x, etc.)
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Identify chipset manufacturerCheck device specifications for Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, or run 'getprop ro.hardware' via ADB shell to identify the hardware platformAffected if The device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and the bootloader is Qualcomm-based
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Determine bootloader patch statusContact the device manufacturer or carrier to verify if bootloader security patch QC-CR#979426 has been applied, or check for bootloader version details if accessible via 'getprop ro.bootloader' or manufacturer-specific diagnostic toolsAffected if The bootloader patch QC-CR#979426 has not been applied and the device runs Android 7.1.0 or earlier on Qualcomm hardware
A device is affected if it runs Android 7.1.0 or earlier, uses a Qualcomm bootloader, and the QC-CR#979426 patch has not been applied by the device manufacturer.
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 vendor firmware updates released by device manufacturers that incorporate the Qualcomm bootloader patch (QC-CR#979426). Users should be advised that exploitation may result in permanent compromise potentially requiring device reflashing to remediate.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8422 — 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-2016-8422 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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