CVE-2016-9277
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 · uneditedInteger overflow in SystemUI in KK(4.4) and L(5.0/5.1) on Samsung Note devices allows attackers to cause a denial of service (UI restart) via vectors involving APIs and an activity that computes an out-of-bounds array index, aka SVE-2016-6906.
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 confidenceInteger overflow in Samsung's custom SystemUI component on Android KitKat (4.4) and Lollipop (5.0/5.1) allows a local attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds array index via specific API calls to a vulnerable activity, causing the UI to restart (denial of service).
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= 4.4= 5.0= 5.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Confirm device is SamsungCheck device manufacturer via Settings > About Phone > Manufacturer or run 'getprop ro.product.manufacturer' in ADB shellAffected if Manufacturer is not Samsung - the vulnerability is Samsung-specific
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Verify Android version is affectedCheck Android version via Settings > About Phone > Android version or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' in ADB shellAffected if Version is 4.4, 5.0, or 5.1 - these are the specifically listed affected versions
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Confirm Samsung custom SystemUI is presentCheck SystemUI.apk version in /system/framework/ or via package manager: 'pm list packages | grep systemui' then 'dumpsys package com.android.systemui' to get versionAffected if Samsung custom SystemUI is present on the device - the vulnerability exists in Samsung's custom implementation, not stock Android
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Identify vulnerable activity exposureExamine logcat for SystemUI crashes or check if specific activities are exposed via 'dumpsys package <systemui_package>' to identify activity componentsAffected if Vulnerable activity components are accessible and device meets version criteria - the exploit targets specific API calls to a vulnerable activity in SystemUI
Device is affected if it is a Samsung device running Android 4.4, 5.0, or 5.1 with the vulnerable Samsung custom SystemUI component installed and the specific vulnerable activity is accessible for exploitation.
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/security updates from Samsung for affected Note devices; if devices cannot be updated, implement mobile device lifecycle management policies to retire vulnerable hardware.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9277 — 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-2016-9277 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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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.
- 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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