AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-13204

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-01-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 information disclosure vulnerability in the Android media framework (libavc). Product: Android. Versions: 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1. Android ID: A-64380237.

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 confidence

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in libavc (the Android media framework's H.264/AVC codec implementation). The specific nature of the exposed information and exploitation method are not detailed in available documentation, but the critical CVSS score (9.1) indicates significant potential impact.

MitigationApply Android security patch level 2018-01-01 or later, which includes the fix for this libavc vulnerability. Users should ensure their devices receive regular Android system security updates.

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
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0= 8.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checks

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

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' via ADB shell
    Affected if Version is 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1
  2. Check security patch level
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Security patch level, or run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' via ADB shell
    Affected if Patch level is before 2018-01-01 (for example, 2017-12-01 or earlier)
  3. Verify libavc codec is in use
    Check if the device uses H.264/AVC video decoding by inspecting media codecs: run 'adb shell dumpsys media.codec' or check video playback logs
    Affected if The device processes H.264/AVC content through libavc, which is standard on affected Android versions

The device is affected if it runs Android 6.0 through 8.1 with a security patch level earlier than 2018-01-01 and uses the libavc media codec for H.264/AVC video processing.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Android security patch level 2018-01-01 or later, which includes the fix for this libavc vulnerability. Users should ensure their devices receive regular Android system security updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 8.1 (or December 2017 Security Patch Level)

  1. 1. Determine the current Android version on the device by going to Settings > About Phone > Android version
  2. 2. Confirm the device is running Android 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, or 7.1.1 which are affected by CVE-2017-13204
  3. 3. Check for available system updates by going to Settings > About Phone > System Updates or Settings > System > Software Update
  4. 4. Apply the latest Android security update. The fix for this vulnerability was released in the December 2017 Android Security Patch Level
  5. 5. After updating, verify the Android version and security patch level in Settings > About Phone > Security patch level reflects December 2017 or later
  6. 6. If the device manufacturer has not released an update with the December 2017 patch level, consider upgrading to a device with Android 8.0 or 8.1 which includes the fix
Caveat None expected - this is a security patch update. Minor UI differences may exist if upgrading to a newer Android major version.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-13204 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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