CVE-2017-0398
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 Audioserver could enable a local malicious application to access data outside of its permission levels. This issue is rated as Moderate because it could be used to access sensitive data without permission. Product: Android. Versions: 4.4.4, 5.0.2, 5.1.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1. Android IDs: A-32438594, A-32635664.
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 confidenceA permission bypass vulnerability in Android's Audioserver allows a local malicious application to access sensitive audio data beyond its granted permission level. The flaw enables unauthorized access to audio information that should be protected by Android's permission model.
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= 4.4.4= 5.1.1= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0= 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
- 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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Identify Android versionOpen Settings > About Phone, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release'Affected if The version listed matches 4.4.4, 5.1.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, or 7.1.0 exactly
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Check security patch levelOpen Settings > About Phone > Android security patch level, or run 'adb shell getprop ro.build.version.security_patch'Affected if The patch level is earlier than January 2017 or the field is empty/unavailable
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Verify Audioserver is accessibleRun 'adb shell dumpsys audio' to confirm the Audioserver service is active on the deviceAffected if The service responds and audio functionality is present (required context for the vulnerability to apply)
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Confirm permission model is in useVerify the device uses Android's standard permission framework by checking if apps request runtime permissionsAffected if The device enforces Android permission model (this is the baseline condition for the bypass to have meaning)
The device is affected if it runs Android version 4.4.4, 5.1.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, or 7.1.0 and lacks the January 2017 security patch, as the Audioserver permission bypass exists in these specific versions.
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 Android security patch for January 2017 or later, which addresses this Audioserver permission bypass. Users should ensure their devices receive regular security updates.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0398 — 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-2017-0398 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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