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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2015-7988

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-06-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1 / 7.6.7 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
The handle_regservice_request function in mDNSResponder before 625.41.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors.

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

mDNSResponder (Apple's Bonjour/multicast DNS service) before version 625.41.2 contains a vulnerability in the handle_regservice_request function that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via NULL pointer dereference. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication, making it critical.

MitigationUpgrade mDNSResponder to version 625.41.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting network access to the mDNSResponder service or disabling it if not required.

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
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:>= 9.0, < 9.1
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.9, < 10.9.5>= 10.10.0, < 10.10.5>= 10.11.0, < 10.11.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 2.1
Airport Base Station FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 7.6, < 7.6.7>= 7.7, < 7.7.7
MdnsresponderApplication
Affected:< 625.41.2

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 mDNSResponder version on macOS
    Run 'mDNSResponder -v' in Terminal or check the version via 'system_profiler SPNetworkDataType' to find the mDNSResponder bundle version
    Affected if The version is less than 625.41.2
  2. Check macOS system version
    Run 'sw_vers' or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to see the macOS version number
    Affected if The macOS version is 10.9.x before 10.9.5, 10.10.x before 10.10.5, or 10.11.x before 10.11.1
  3. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iOS device to see the iOS version
    Affected if The iOS version is 9.0 or higher but lower than 9.1
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About to see watchOS version
    Affected if The watchOS version is lower than 2.1
  5. Check Airport Base Station firmware version
    Access the AirPort Utility on macOS, select the Base Station, and check the version in the Base Station summary or access the web interface at the base station IP address
    Affected if The firmware version is 7.6.x before 7.6.7 or 7.7.x before 7.7.7

You are affected if mDNSResponder version is below 625.41.2, or if your Apple device runs an OS version within the vulnerable ranges specified above and has mDNSResponder/Bonjour service enabled.

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 2.1 / 7.6.7 / 7.7.7 or later
Fixed in 2.17.6.77.7.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade mDNSResponder to version 625.41.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting network access to the mDNSResponder service or disabling it if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 9.1+ | macOS 10.9.5/10.10.5/10.11.1+ | watchOS 2.1+ | AirPort Firmware 7.6.7/7.7.7+ | mDNSResponder 625.41.2+

  1. For iPhone/iPad (iOS): Update to iOS 9.1 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks): Update to version 10.9.5 via Apple menu > Software Update
  3. For Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite): Update to version 10.10.5 via Apple menu > Software Update
  4. For Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan): Update to version 10.11.1 via Apple menu > Software Update
  5. For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 2.1 via the Watch app on iPhone
  6. For AirPort Base Station: Update firmware to version 7.6.7 (for older models) or 7.7.7 (for newer models) via AirPort Utility app
  7. For mDNSResponder directly: Upgrade to version 625.41.2 or later
Caveat Standard OS update considerations - review release notes for your specific device before updating

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

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2015-7988 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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