AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2017-13205

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 (libmpeg2). Product: Android. Versions: 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1. Android ID: A-64550583.

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 in the Android media framework's libmpeg2 component allows unauthorized access to sensitive information. The flaw exists in how libmpeg2 handles certain media data processing, potentially exposing memory contents or other sensitive data to an attacker.

MitigationApply the Android security patch for the affected versions (7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1) which includes the fix for A-64550583, or update the libmpeg2 library to the patched version.

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 version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.release' or go to Settings > About Phone > Android version
    Affected if The version is 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1
  2. Verify libmpeg2 library presence
    Check for /system/lib/libmpeg2.so or /vendor/lib/libmpeg2.so using 'find /system -name libmpeg2.so' or 'ls -la /system/lib/libmpeg2.so'
    Affected if The libmpeg2.so library file exists on the device
  3. Confirm media framework uses libmpeg2
    Examine /system/etc/media_codecs.xml or /etc/media_codecs.xml for entries referencing libmpeg2, or check /proc/mounts for media processing activity
    Affected if Media codecs or profiles reference libmpeg2 or media decoding is actively used on the device
  4. Check security patch level
    Run 'getprop ro.build.version.security_patch' to see the installed security patch date
    Affected if The security patch level is earlier than the fix date for A-64550583 (Android security patch for the affected version)

The device is affected if it runs Android 6.0 through 8.1 and contains the vulnerable libmpeg2 library used for media 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 the Android security patch for the affected versions (7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1) which includes the fix for A-64550583, or update the libmpeg2 library to the patched version.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 8.0 or later, or ensure security patch level is January 2018 or later

  1. 1. Check the current Android security patch level on the device: Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
  2. 2. If the security patch level is earlier than January 2018, apply the latest available system update from your device manufacturer
  3. 3. If no update is available from the manufacturer, consider upgrading to a newer Android version (8.0 or later) that includes the fix
  4. 4. After updating, verify the security patch level reflects January 2018 or later in Settings > About Phone > Security Patch Level
Caveat Upgrading to a newer Android version may cause incompatibility with apps designed for older Android versions; some pre-installed apps may not function identically

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

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-13205 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-13205 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