Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2016-8460
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 information disclosure vulnerability in the NVIDIA video driver could enable a local malicious application to access data outside of its permission levels. This issue is rated as High because it could be used to access sensitive data without explicit user permission. Product: Android. Versions: Kernel-3.10. Android ID: A-31668540. References: N-CVE-2016-8460.
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 confidenceThis is an information disclosure vulnerability in the NVIDIA video driver for Android. A local malicious application can exploit improper permission checks in the driver to access data outside of its assigned permission levels, potentially exposing sensitive information without user consent. The vulnerability exists in the kernel-3.10 based Android implementations.
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
= 3.10CVSS 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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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or check /proc/version to verify the kernel is version 3.10Affected if Kernel version is exactly 3.10 (Linux Linux Kernel: = 3.10)
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Identify NVIDIA video driverCheck /proc/modules or lsmod for NVIDIA GPU modules (nvidia, nv_tegra, or similar NVIDIA driver modules)Affected if NVIDIA video driver modules are loaded on the device
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Verify driver component existsCheck /dev/nvidia* or /sys/class/video4linux for NVIDIA video device nodesAffected if NVIDIA video device nodes exist, indicating the vulnerable driver is present
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Confirm Android environmentCheck for /system/lib/modules or /vendor/lib/modules directories containing NVIDIA driver binariesAffected if Device is an Android system with NVIDIA kernel modules installed
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Check permission configurationReview /sys/class/video4linux/*/permissions or use 'ls -la /dev/nvidia*' to inspect device node permissionsAffected if Device nodes have overly permissive access controls (world-readable/writable)
Affected if running Android on kernel 3.10 with an installed NVIDIA video driver that exposes device nodes with insufficient permission controls.
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 appropriate NVIDIA video driver update provided through Android system updates from the device manufacturer. Users should ensure their Android devices receive regular security patches.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8460 — 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-2016-8460 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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