What is CVE-2016-3861?

CVE-2016-3861 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Android, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2016-09-11.

How severe is CVE-2016-3861?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2016-3861 known to be exploited?

8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Buffer overflow in Google Android

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.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2016-09-11 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.098 (95.4th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 95th percentile — 95.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.098 · newest: 0.098 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Google Android — versions 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/native/+/1f4b49e64adf4623eefda503b… (Patch, Issue Tracking)
source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-09-01.html (Vendor Advisory)
android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/av/+/3944c65637dfed14a5a895685edfa… (Patch, Issue Tracking)
android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/ecf5fd58a8f50362ce9e8d4245a33d5… (Patch, Issue Tracking)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1036763 (vdb-entry)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/92811 (vdb-entry)
android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/866dc26ad4a98cc835d075b6273… (Patch, Issue Tracking)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40354/ (exploit)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-3861?: CVE-2016-3861 is a high-severity vulnerability in Google Android, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2016-09-11.
How severe is CVE-2016-3861?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2016-3861 known to be exploited?: 8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.