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FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2016-4608

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-07-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.1 / 12.4.2 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
libxslt in Apple iOS before 9.3.3, OS X before 10.11.6, iTunes before 12.4.2 on Windows, iCloud before 5.2.1 on Windows, tvOS before 9.2.2, and watchOS before 2.2.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4607, CVE-2016-4609, CVE-2016-4610, and CVE-2016-4612.

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 libxslt (the XSLT processing library) allows remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially achieve unspecified impact via crafted XSLT/XML content. The vulnerability affects multiple Apple platforms and software products.

MitigationApply Apple security updates: iOS 9.3.3+, OS X 10.11.6+, iTunes 12.4.2+, iCloud for Windows 5.2.1+, tvOS 9.2.2+, and watchOS 2.2.2+. For applications using libxslt internally, recompile with patched library versions.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 30
LibxsltApplication
Affected:<= 1.1.28
IcloudApplication
Affected:< 5.2.1
ItunesApplication
Affected:< 12.4.2

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:3.1/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. Identify installed libxslt library version
    Run 'rpm -q libxslt' on Fedora or 'xsltproc --version' to check the libxslt library version. On other systems, check the shared library version via 'ldconfig -p | grep libxslt' or inspect the library file directly.
    Affected if The installed libxslt version is 1.1.28 or earlier (any version <= 1.1.28)
  2. Verify if XSLT processing is in use
    Search application logs or configurations for XSLT transformations, XSL stylesheet imports, or XML processing pipelines. Look for .xsl or .xslt file references in application directories.
    Affected if Any application or service actively processes XSLT stylesheets from user-supplied or untrusted XML sources
  3. Check Apple iTunes version on Windows
    Open iTunes, go to Help > About iTunes to view the version number, or check the installed version via Programs and Features in Control Panel.
    Affected if iTunes version is earlier than 12.4.2
  4. Check Apple iCloud for Windows version
    Open iCloud, click the menu icon (typically three lines or dots), select About iCloud to view the version, or check via Programs and Features.
    Affected if iCloud for Windows version is earlier than 5.2.1
  5. Check Fedora version if applicable
    Run 'cat /etc/fedora-release' or 'rpm -q fedora-release' to determine the Fedora release version.
    Affected if Running Fedora 30 and the libxslt library has not been patched (check with 'rpm -q --changelog libxslt' for CVE-2016-4608 entries)

You are affected if libxslt <= 1.1.28 is installed and actively processing XSLT content, or if using iTunes < 12.4.2 or iCloud for Windows < 5.2.1 on Windows systems.

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 5.2.1 / 12.4.2 or later
Fixed in 5.2.112.4.2
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple security updates: iOS 9.3.3+, OS X 10.11.6+, iTunes 12.4.2+, iCloud for Windows 5.2.1+, tvOS 9.2.2+, and watchOS 2.2.2+. For applications using libxslt internally, recompile with patched library versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 9.3.3+, OS X 10.11.6+, iTunes 12.4.2+, iCloud 5.2.1+, tvOS 9.2.2+, watchOS 2.2.2+ (depending on product)

  1. Upgrade Apple iOS devices to version 9.3.3 or later
  2. Upgrade Apple OS X to version 10.11.6 or later
  3. Upgrade iTunes for Windows to version 12.4.2 or later
  4. Upgrade iCloud for Windows to version 5.2.1 or later
  5. Upgrade Apple tvOS devices to version 9.2.2 or later
  6. Upgrade Apple watchOS devices to version 2.2.2 or later
  7. After upgrading, verify the libxslt component has been updated by checking system information or using the 'xsltproc --version' command
Caveat Upgrading iOS/tvOS/watchOS may require compatible hardware; some older devices may not support these versions and may need to be replaced

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

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2016-4608 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