CVE-2016-2420

rootdir/init.rc in Android 4.x before 4.4.4 does not ensure that the /data/tombstones directory exists for the Debuggerd component, which allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka internal bug 26403620.

Published: 2016-04-17 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-2420 is rated Moderate Risk (44.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.47%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-2420

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.09% 0.47% +0.38%
2 2023-03-07 0.95% 0.09% -0.86%
3 2022-02-04 — 0.95% —

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-2420

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-2420

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-2420

vendor priority summary link
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-2420 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (android), 9 status rows across 9 suites (artful, bionic, precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 4, ignored 4, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-2420

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-2420

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
google android 4.0 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.0.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.0.2 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.0.3 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.0.4 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.1.2 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.2 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.2.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.2.2 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.3 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.3.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.4 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.4.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.4.2 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 4.4.3 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:4.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 5.0 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 5.0.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 5.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 5.1.0 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:5.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google android 6.0.1 cpe:2.3:o:google:android:6.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-2420

cvelogic Threat Intelligence