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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-1734

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-03-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.11.3 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
AppleUSBNetworking in Apple iOS before 9.3 and OS X before 10.11.4 allows physically proximate attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted USB device.

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

Vulnerability in AppleUSBNetworking driver (iOS < 9.3, OS X < 10.11.4) where a physically proximate attacker with a crafted USB device can trigger memory corruption, leading to arbitrary code execution in privileged context or denial of service.

MitigationUpdate to iOS 9.3+, OS X 10.11.4+ or later. Restrict physical access to devices and consider disabling USB debugging features where feasible.

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:<= 9.2.1
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.11.3

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:P/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 iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field, or connect device to computer and check via iTunes or ideviceinfo
    Affected if Version is 9.2.1 or earlier (any version <= 9.2.1)
  2. Check macOS/OS X version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is 10.11.3 or earlier (any version <= 10.11.3)
  3. Determine if AppleUSBNetworking driver is loaded
    On macOS, run 'kextstat | grep -i usbnet' in Terminal to check if the AppleUSBNetworking kernel extension is loaded
    Affected if Driver is loaded and operating system version is within affected range
  4. Check if USB debugging or network tethering is enabled
    On iOS, check Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot (or Settings > General > Network for older versions). On macOS, check System Preferences > Network for USB network interfaces
    Affected if USB debugging, tethering, or USB networking is actively enabled

User is affected if running iOS 9.2.1 or earlier, or OS X 10.11.3 or earlier, AND the AppleUSBNetworking driver is present with USB networking features accessible.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.11.3
Interim mitigation

Update to iOS 9.3+, OS X 10.11.4+ or later. Restrict physical access to devices and consider disabling USB debugging features where feasible.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-1734 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