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WatchosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2015-5846

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.4.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IOKit in the kernel in Apple iOS before 9 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted app, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5844 and CVE-2015-5845.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

IOKit kernel vulnerability in iOS versions before 9 allows a maliciously crafted app to execute arbitrary code in kernel/privileged context or cause memory corruption leading to denial of service. The high CVSS score (9.3) reflects the ability to achieve code execution at the highest privilege level in the system.

MitigationApply Apple's iOS 9 or later security update, as this is a kernel-level vulnerability with no configuration-based workarounds - the fix requires Apple's patched IOKit component.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
WatchosOperating system
Affected:= 1.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:<= 8.4.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check iOS version on device
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iOS device and locate the 'Version' field. This displays the currently installed iOS version.
    Affected if The version displayed is 8.4.1 or earlier, or any version below 9.0 (for example, 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, 8.0) - these are all versions before the patched iOS 9 release.
  2. Check Apple Watch watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the watchOS version shown next to 'Version'.
    Affected if The Apple Watch is running watchOS version 1.0 exactly, as this is the only listed affected version for this device.
  3. Confirm device model and OS combination
    Note the specific device model (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch) from the device Settings > General > About > Model Name, and cross-reference with the OS version found in step 1 or 2.
    Affected if The device is any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 8.4.1 or below, or any Apple Watch running watchOS 1.0.
  4. Verify IOKit component state
    This vulnerability is in the IOKit kernel subsystem. On iOS, there is no user-accessible command to directly query the IOKit version. The detection relies entirely on confirming the OS version falls within the affected range identified in steps 1-3.
    Affected if The OS version is confirmed to be in the affected range (iOS <= 8.4.1 or watchOS 1.0), meaning the unpatched IOKit kernel component is present.

If the device runs iOS 8.4.1 or any earlier iOS 8.x version, or if it is an Apple Watch on watchOS 1.0, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.4.1
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple's iOS 9 or later security update, as this is a kernel-level vulnerability with no configuration-based workarounds - the fix requires Apple's patched IOKit component.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 9 and WatchOS 2.0

  1. Back up your iOS device using iTunes or iCloud
  2. Back up your Apple Watch and unpair it from your iPhone
  3. Upgrade iPhone to iOS 9 by going to Settings > General > Software Update
  4. After iPhone upgrade, pair your Apple Watch and update to WatchOS 2.0 or later via the Watch app on iPhone
  5. Verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About on both devices
Caveat iOS 9 and WatchOS 2.0 are legacy versions; some apps may be incompatible and no longer receive security updates; consider upgrading to newer supported OS versions if possible

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Watchos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $880
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-5846 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data