CVE-2016-1729
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in OSA Scripts in Apple OS X before 10.11.3 allows attackers to load arbitrary script libraries via a quarantined application.
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 confidenceAn untrusted search path vulnerability in OSA Scripts (Open Scripting Architecture) in Apple OS X before 10.11.3 allows a quarantined application to load arbitrary script libraries from attacker-controlled locations by exploiting the library search path, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.
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<= 10.11.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the installed OS X versionOpen Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, and note the version number (e.g., 10.11.2, 10.11.1, 10.11.0)Affected if The version is 10.11.2 or lower (10.11.0, 10.11.1, or 10.11.2)
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Determine if OSA Scripts functionality is activeCheck if any applications or scripts leverage Open Scripting Architecture (OSA) by reviewing installed applications or looking for .scpt/.applescript files in useAffected if OSA Scripts are actively used or available on the system and the OS version is 10.11.2 or lower
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Inspect the OSA library search pathReview the environment variable and configuration for OSA script library paths, typically accessible via osascript command or OSA-related system preferencesAffected if The search path includes user-writable or untrusted locations and the OS version is 10.11.2 or lower
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Identify quarantined applications using OSACheck for applications that have been downloaded from the internet (quarantined) and use AppleScript or OSA functionality by examining application bundles or running 'xattr -l' on suspect applicationsAffected if A quarantined application that uses OSA scripts is present and the OS version is 10.11.2 or lower
The environment is affected if the installed OS X version is 10.11.2 or lower and OSA Scripts are in use, allowing a quarantined application to exploit the library search path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply Apple OS X 10.11.3 or later security update to patch the vulnerability. Additionally, exercise caution when running quarantined applications and verify the integrity of script sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-1729 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-1729 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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