CVE-2016-3861
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09...
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
CVE-2016-3861- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 9.3 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-119, CWE-264
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
CVE-2016-3861- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-4874 No score
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
EUVD-2016-4874- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-42m2-m4h3-qr94
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09...
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
GHSA-42m2-m4h3-qr94- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
CVE-2016-3861- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-3861
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2016-3861- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-3861
LibUtils in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, 6.x before 2016-09-01, and 7.0 before 2016-09-01 mishandles conversions between Unicode character encodings with different encoding widths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a crafted file, aka internal bug 29250543.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2016-3861- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
android-platform-system-coreDebian:11 |
before 1:7.0.0+r1-4 | 1:7.0.0+r1-4 |
androidUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 20150818-1500-0ubuntu220150818-1500-0ubuntu320160307-0742-0ubuntu320160330-0939-0ubuntu1 |
None known |
android-platform-system-coreUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 21-61:6.0.0+r26-11:6.0.1+r16-11:6.0.1+r16-3 |
None known |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | Google Android - libutils UTF16 to UTF8 Conversion Heap Buffer Overflow | 2016-09-08 |
| PoC in GitHub | kswzzl/CVE-2016-3861 | 2019-12-21 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2016-3861 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Google Android, published September 11, 2016. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 8.29%, the 94th percentile. Fixed in android-platform-system-core 1:7.0.0+r1-4.
References
android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/native/+/1f4b49e64adf4623eefda503bca61e253597b9bf
source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-09-01.html
securitytracker.com/id/1036763
securityfocus.com/bid/92811
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exploit-db.com/exploits/40354
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3861
github.com/advisories/GHSA-42m2-m4h3-qr94
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-3861
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-3861
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-3861