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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2016-8456

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 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-32219255. References: B-RB#105580.

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

Elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver allowing a local malicious application to execute arbitrary code within kernel context. The issue requires prior compromise of a privileged process, affecting Android devices running Kernel-3.10 and Kernel-3.18.

MitigationApply vendor-provided security patches for the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver; ensure Android devices receive manufacturer security updates addressing the kernel driver 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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Android environment
    Check if the device is running Android (look for /system/build.prop or run 'getprop ro.build.id' or 'getprop ro.product.name')
    Affected if The device is NOT running Android - this CVE specifically affects Android devices with Broadcom Wi-Fi chips
  2. Identify kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to determine the running kernel version
    Affected if Kernel version is NOT exactly 3.10 or 3.18 - the vulnerability only affects these specific versions
  3. Verify Broadcom Wi-Fi driver presence
    Check for Broadcom Wi-Fi driver modules: look in /system/lib/modules/ or /vendor/lib/modules/ for brcm* files, or run 'lsmod' to list loaded modules and search for 'brcm' or 'bcmdhd' entries
    Affected if No Broadcom Wi-Fi driver is present or loaded - the vulnerability exists in the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver specifically
  4. Confirm driver is active
    Check if Wi-Fi interface exists and is operational: run 'ip link show' or 'iwconfig' to list wireless interfaces, or check that Wi-Fi is enabled in settings
    Affected if Wi-Fi is disabled or no wireless interface exists - the attack surface requires the vulnerable driver to be loaded and active

A device is affected if it is an Android device running exactly Kernel 3.10 or 3.18 with an active Broadcom Wi-Fi driver loaded (brcm/bcmdhd modules present and Wi-Fi interface available).

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 vendor-provided security patches for the Broadcom Wi-Fi driver; ensure Android devices receive manufacturer security updates addressing the kernel driver vulnerability.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
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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-2016-8456 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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