CVE-2016-1797
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 · uneditedApple Type Services (ATS) in Apple OS X before 10.11.5 allows attackers to bypass intended FontValidator sandbox-policy restrictions and execute arbitrary code in a privileged context via a crafted app.
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 confidenceApple Type Services (ATS) in OS X before 10.11.5 contains a sandbox bypass vulnerability in the FontValidator component. Attackers can craft a malicious application that bypasses intended sandbox restrictions, allowing arbitrary code execution in a privileged context outside the sandbox.
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<= 10.11.4CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the installed OS X versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac to view the OS X version numberAffected if The version is 10.11.4 or earlier (any version up to and including 10.11.4)
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Confirm Apple Type Services FontValidator component is presentCheck for the existence of /System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Frameworks/ATS.framework or verify the atsutil command is available in TerminalAffected if Apple Type Services (ATS) framework is installed and available on the system
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Verify sandbox status for font-related servicesRun 'sandbox-exec -p default /usr/bin/true' to verify sandbox defaults are active, or check if untrusted applications can access font-related system calls through the FontValidator componentAffected if The sandbox enforcement is not properly isolating FontValidator from untrusted applications, allowing privilege escalation
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Inspect system logs for suspicious font validation activityCheck Console logs (located in /Applications/Utilities/Console.app) or run 'log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.ATS"' --last 24h' for unusual font loading events from non-sandboxed or untrusted processesAffected if Font loading or validation requests from applications running outside the sandbox are being processed by the privileged FontValidator service
A system is affected if it runs OS X 10.11.4 or earlier and the FontValidator component of Apple Type Services is accessible to untrusted applications, allowing sandbox bypass for privileged code execution.
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 dataUpdate affected systems to OS X 10.11.5 or later to patch the FontValidator sandbox bypass vulnerability in Apple Type Services.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2016-1797 — 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-2016-1797 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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- 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