dbcve.org
XcodeApplication · Apple

CVE-2016-1765

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-03-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
otool in Apple Xcode before 7.3 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) 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 · moderate confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability in otool, a binary analysis utility included with Apple Xcode versions prior to 7.3, allows local authenticated users to potentially escalate privileges or cause a denial of service through unspecified attack vectors.

MitigationUpgrade to Xcode 7.3 or later to obtain the patched otool binary; alternatively, apply the relevant Apple security update if available separately.

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
XcodeApplication
Affected:<= 7.2.1

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Xcode is installed
    Run 'xcodebuild -version' or check /Applications for Xcode.app
    Affected if Xcode is installed and the version reported is 7.2.1 or earlier
  2. Check otool binary location
    Locate otool within the Xcode application bundle, typically in the Toolchains directory under Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/
    Affected if otool binary exists in an Xcode installation version 7.2.1 or earlier
  3. Verify Xcode version against affected range
    Compare the installed Xcode version number to the affected range of <= 7.2.1
    Affected if Installed Xcode version is 7.2.1 or any version lower than 7.3
  4. Confirm otool is accessible to local users
    Check file permissions on the otool binary (ls -la) to ensure it is executable by standard user accounts
    Affected if otool is owned by root with setuid bit, or writable by non-privileged users, allowing local exploitation

User is affected if Xcode version 7.2.1 or earlier is installed and the otool binary is present and accessible for local execution.

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 7.2.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Xcode 7.3 or later to obtain the patched otool binary; alternatively, apply the relevant Apple security update if available separately.

Fix this in Xcode Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.

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-2016-1765 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