Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2016-8454
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 Broadcom Wi-Fi 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-32174590. References: B-RB#107142.
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 confidenceElevation of privilege vulnerability in Broadcom Wi-Fi driver allowing a local malicious application that has already compromised a privileged process to execute arbitrary code within kernel context. Affects 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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Verify the device is running AndroidCheck /system/build.prop for android.os.build.version.sdk or check if the device has typical Android paths like /system/app/Affected if Device is not Android - this CVE only affects Android devices
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Check kernel version matches affected releasesRun 'uname -r' or read /proc/version to obtain the kernel versionAffected if Kernel version is exactly 3.10 or 3.18 - other kernel versions are not affected by this specific CVE
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Confirm Broadcom Wi-Fi driver is in useCheck for Broadcom Wi-Fi driver modules via 'lsmod | grep -i bcmdhd' or check Wi-Fi chip information in /proc/bus/pci or via 'getprop ro.bt.chipset'Affected if Broadcom Wi-Fi driver (bcmdhd/brcmfmac) is present - the vulnerability exists in this specific driver
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Assess if a privileged process compromise is plausibleReview running processes with elevated privileges via 'ps -A' and check for any suspicious processes or unexpected root-level accessAffected if A privileged process has already been compromised by a local malicious application - this is a prerequisite for exploiting the vulnerability
The device is affected only if it is an Android device with kernel version exactly 3.10 or 3.18 that uses a Broadcom Wi-Fi driver and has a compromised privileged process.
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 Android security patches provided by device/OEM vendors. If patches are unavailable, consider network segmentation to limit exposure from compromised applications.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,568.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8454 — 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-2016-8454 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
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