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.
CVE-2016-3861
Score 7.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2022-05-17. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8; sources differ by 0.0.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 7.8(medium)
- EG Risk
- 66(Track)EG Risk 66/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity78% × 45%Exploitation65% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS
- 95.5%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
September 11, 2016
Last Modified
May 6, 2026
References (16)
- security@androidhttp://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-09-01.html
- security@androidhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92811
- security@androidhttp://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036763
- security@androidhttps://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/av/+/3944c65637dfed14a5a895685edfa4bacaf9f76e
- security@androidhttps://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/866dc26ad4a98cc835d075b627326e7d7e52ffa1
- security@androidhttps://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/native/+/1f4b49e64adf4623eefda503bca61e253597b9bf
- security@androidhttps://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/ecf5fd58a8f50362ce9e8d4245a33d56f29f142b
- security@androidhttps://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40354/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-09-01.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92811
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036763
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/av/+/3944c65637dfed14a5a895685edfa4bacaf9f76e
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/866dc26ad4a98cc835d075b627326e7d7e52ffa1
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/native/+/1f4b49e64adf4623eefda503bca61e253597b9bf
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/ecf5fd58a8f50362ce9e8d4245a33d56f29f142b
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 38× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-23 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-23 01:22 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 22:02 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-07-12 07:38 UTCOSV refresh
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- 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 13:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 15:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-24 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-22 18:52 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-22 18:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
- 2026-05-22 07:06 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-05-21 22:40 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
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Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- Exploit-DBEDB-40354✓ verifiedFirst seen Sep 8, 2016
Google Android - libutils UTF16 to UTF8 Conversion Heap Buffer Overflow
Open source ↗
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2016-3861?
When was CVE-2016-3861 disclosed?
Is CVE-2016-3861 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-3861?
How do I remediate CVE-2016-3861?
Dependency Blast Radius
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