Local privilege escalation via retained installer identity
Published Sep 8, 2026 · Updated Sep 10, 2026
Permission bypass in Android 16 QPR2 and 17 allows local users to update apps without authorization through Package Installer. In InstallRepository.kt, maybeRemoveInvalidInstallerPackageName removes a mismatched EXTRA_INSTALLER_PACKAGE_NAME only when the caller already holds INSTALL_PACKAGES, leaving an unprivileged caller-supplied installer identity intact. A local app can exploit the retained identity without user interaction or additional execution privileges to gain privileges through an unauthorized update.
Summary
What happened
Permission bypass in Android 16 QPR2 and 17 allows local users to update apps without authorization through Package Installer. In InstallRepository.kt, maybeRemoveInvalidInstallerPackageName removes a mismatched EXTRA_INSTALLER_PACKAGE_NAME only when the caller already holds INSTALL_PACKAGES, leaving an unprivileged caller-supplied installer identity intact. A local app can exploit the retained identity without user interaction or additional execution privileges to gain privileges through an unauthorized update.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-49887
- Published
- Sep 8, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Google Cloud
- Product
- Android
- Classifications
- T1404
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=16-qpr2
- Affected versionversion=17
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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