CVE-2016-3829 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
The ih264d decoder in mediaserver in Android 6.x before 2016-08-01 does not initialize certain structure members, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device hang or reboot) via a crafted media file, aka internal bug 29023649.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-3829 represents a critical security flaw within the Android media processing framework, specifically affecting Android 6.x versions prior to the 2016-08-01 security patch release. This issue resides in the ih264d decoder component of the mediaserver process, which is responsible for handling h.264 video decoding operations within the Android operating system. The flaw manifests as improper initialization of critical structure members during the video decoding process, creating a predictable security weakness that can be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory initialization practices within the decoder implementation. When processing specially crafted media files, the ih264d decoder fails to properly initialize certain internal data structures, leading to undefined behavior patterns that can cause the mediaserver process to become unresponsive or crash entirely. This improper initialization creates a condition where the decoder attempts to access or manipulate uninitialized memory regions, resulting in system instability and potential device hang scenarios that ultimately manifest as denial of service conditions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to Android devices running affected versions, as remote attackers can exploit it through malicious media files without requiring any special privileges or user interaction. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially causing complete device reboots, effectively rendering the device temporarily unusable and creating opportunities for further exploitation or disruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the system level within the mediaserver process, which handles multimedia content processing for various applications and system components.
The security implications align with CWE-457, which addresses the use of uninitialized variables, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with the ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations and users should prioritize immediate patching of affected Android 6.x devices to mitigate this vulnerability, as the window for exploitation remains open until the security update is applied. The remediation process involves updating the Android operating system to version 2016-08-01 or later, which includes proper initialization of the affected structure members within the ih264d decoder implementation, thereby preventing the exploitation vector that leads to device instability and denial of service conditions.