# CVE-2016-10138: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A system app with excessive privileges allows any installed app to execute commands as the system user, enabling full device control and data theft.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v5x2-q7qf-v88w

## What is CVE-2016-10138?

CVE-2016-10138 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Jan 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered on BLU Advance 5.0 and BLU R1 HD devices with Shanghai Adups software. The com.adups.fota.sysoper app is installed as a system app and cannot be disabled by the user. In the com.adups.fota.sysoper app's AndroidManifest.xml file, it sets the android:sharedUserId attribute to a value of android.uid.system which makes it execute as the system user, which is a very privileged user on the device. The app has an exported broadcast receiver named com.adups.fota.sysoper.WriteCommandReceiver which any app on the device can interact with. Therefore, any app can send a command embedded in an intent which will be executed by the WriteCommandReceiver component which is executing as the system user. The third-party app, utilizing the WriteCommandReceiver, can perform the following actions: call a phone number, factory reset the device, take pictures of the screen, record the screen in a video, install applications, inject events, obtain the Android log, and others. In addition, the com.adups.fota.sysoper.TaskService component will make a request to a URL of http://rebootv5.adsunflower.com/ps/fetch.do where the commands in the String array with a key of sf in the JSON Object sent back by the server will be executed as the system user. Since the connection is made via HTTP, it is vulnerable to a MITM attack.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-10138?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adups Adups Fota.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-10138?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-10138 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-10138 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2016-10136](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10136/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2016-10137](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10137/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2016-10139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10139/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-10138 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-10138 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Jan 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10138 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10138/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10138/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10138
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10138
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-10138

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10138/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.