CVE-2016-8478 in Android
Summary
by MITRE
An information disclosure vulnerability in the Qualcomm video driver could enable a local malicious application to access data outside of its permission levels. This issue is rated as Moderate because it first requires compromising a privileged process. Product: Android. Versions: Kernel-3.18. Android ID: A-32511270. References: QC-CR#1088206.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8478 represents a significant information disclosure flaw within the Qualcomm video driver component of Android systems running kernel version 3.18. This issue stems from improper access control mechanisms within the video driver subsystem that fails to adequately enforce permission boundaries. The vulnerability operates at the kernel level and specifically targets the Qualcomm proprietary video driver implementation, which is widely deployed across Android devices. The flaw allows for unauthorized data access that would normally be restricted to higher privilege processes, creating a pathway for malicious applications to potentially extract sensitive information from memory regions they should not be able to access.
The technical nature of this vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-200, which describes improper exposure of sensitive information, and more specifically aligns with CWE-264, indicating permissions, privileges, and access controls issues within the kernel driver. The vulnerability requires an initial compromise of a privileged process to achieve full exploitation, placing it in the moderate severity category according to the CVSS scoring system. This requirement for preliminary compromise means that attackers cannot directly exploit this vulnerability from a standard user application, but rather must first establish a foothold within a privileged context before leveraging this information disclosure weakness to access restricted data.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant risk for Android devices that rely on Qualcomm's video driver implementation. The impact extends beyond simple data theft, as the information disclosed could potentially include sensitive system data, user credentials, or other confidential information that would normally be protected by the kernel's memory management and access control mechanisms. The attack vector involves a local malicious application that has already gained elevated privileges, making this vulnerability particularly concerning in environments where privilege escalation attacks are possible. The Android ID A-32511270 and the Qualcomm internal reference QC-CR#1088206 indicate that this was a known issue within the Android security ecosystem, requiring coordinated patching efforts across multiple vendors.
The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the kernel driver's memory management and access control implementation. Attackers who successfully compromise a privileged process could potentially leverage this flaw to access memory regions that contain sensitive data such as cryptographic keys, user session information, or other confidential system data. This type of information disclosure vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can provide attackers with additional information that could be used to further compromise the system or escalate privileges to even higher levels. The vulnerability's classification as moderate severity reflects the requirement for an initial compromise of a privileged process, but the potential impact remains significant given that once achieved, the attacker can access data that would normally be protected by the kernel's security model.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-8478 should focus on both immediate patching and broader system hardening measures. Organizations should prioritize updating their Android devices to versions that include the Qualcomm security patches addressing this vulnerability, particularly in environments where security is paramount. System administrators should also implement monitoring for suspicious privilege escalation activities and ensure that all applications running on these devices undergo thorough security vetting. The ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques may be relevant to understanding how attackers could leverage this vulnerability, as it represents a potential path to elevated system access through kernel-level information disclosure. Additionally, implementing proper application sandboxing and memory protection mechanisms can help reduce the potential impact of such vulnerabilities even when they are present in the system.