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FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2016-4609

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-07-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.29 / 2.2.2 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-2016-4608, 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 · high confidence

libxslt library contains a memory corruption vulnerability that allows remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially achieve arbitrary code execution via unknown vectors. This affects multiple Apple operating systems and software products that bundle the libxslt library.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates for all affected Apple products (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+) to patch the vulnerable libxslt library. Additionally, identify and update any third-party applications that bundle the vulnerable libxslt version.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0
LibxsltApplication
Affected:< 1.1.29
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 9.3.3
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.11.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 9.2.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 2.2.2
IcloudApplication
Affected:< 5.2.1

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
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. Check installed libxslt library version
    Run 'xsltproc --version' or 'pkg-config --modversion libxslt' to query the library version
    Affected if Version displayed is lower than 1.1.29
  2. Query libxslt package on Debian/Ubuntu
    Run 'dpkg -l libxslt1' or 'apt show libxslt1' to check the installed package version
    Affected if Package version is lower than 1.1.29-0+deb8u1 (Debian 8) or below 1.1.29 (general)
  3. Query libxslt package on Fedora/RHEL
    Run 'rpm -q libxslt' to check the installed RPM package version
    Affected if Package version is lower than 1.1.29-5.fc30 (Fedora 30)
  4. Check macOS system libxslt version
    Run 'otool -L /usr/lib/libxslt.2.dylib' or check the library file directly with 'ls -la /usr/lib/libxslt*'
    Affected if macOS version is below 10.11.6 OR the system libxslt library version is below 1.1.29
  5. Verify iOS/tvOS/watchOS device OS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About to view the OS version number
    Affected if iOS is below 9.3.3, tvOS is below 9.2.2, or watchOS is below 2.2.2
  6. Identify applications bundling vulnerable libxslt
    Search for libxslt binary copies within application bundles: 'find /Applications -name "*libxslt*" -o -name "*xslt*"' on macOS
    Affected if Any bundled libxslt library version is found to be below 1.1.29

Your environment is affected if the installed libxslt library version is below 1.1.29, or if your Apple device OS is below the specified minimum versions (iOS 9.3.3, macOS 10.11.6, tvOS 9.2.2, watchOS 2.2.2).

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 1.1.29 / 2.2.2 / 5.2.1 or later
Fixed in 1.1.292.2.25.2.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates for all affected Apple products (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+) to patch the vulnerable libxslt library. Additionally, identify and update any third-party applications that bundle the vulnerable libxslt version.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apple products: iOS 9.3.3, OS X 10.11.6, tvOS 9.2.2, watchOS 2.2.2, iCloud 5.2.1; libxslt: 1.1.29 or later

  1. For Apple iOS devices: Upgrade to iOS 9.3.3 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For Apple Mac systems: Upgrade to OS X 10.11.6 (El Capitan) or later via the App Store
  3. For Apple tvOS devices: Upgrade to tvOS 9.2.2 or later
  4. For Apple watchOS devices: Upgrade to watchOS 2.2.2 or later
  5. For Windows iCloud: Upgrade to iCloud 5.2.1 or later
  6. For libxslt library users: Upgrade to libxslt version 1.1.29 or later from https://download.gnome.org/libxslt/
  7. For Linux systems using libxslt: Run 'yum update libxslt' (Fedora/RHEL) or 'apt-get update && apt-get install libxslt' (Debian) to apply distribution security patches
Caveat Before upgrading Apple devices, back up important data. Some older devices may not support these iOS versions. Ensure compatibility before upgrading.

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

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2016-4609 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