CVE-2016-4628
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 · uneditedIOAcceleratorFamily in Apple iOS before 9.3.3 and watchOS before 2.2.2 allows local users to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory or cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) 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 confidenceIOAcceleratorFamily (Apple's graphics/I/O accelerator kernel framework) contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability allowing local authenticated users to either read sensitive kernel memory contents or crash the kernel (denial of service). This is a kernel-level privilege escalation/information disclosure flaw in iOS before 9.3.3 and watchOS before 2.2.2.
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<= 9.3.2<= 2.2.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Identify your Apple device typeDetermine if your device is an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. This matters because iOS and watchOS have different version tracks.Affected if Device runs iOS or watchOS (not macOS or tvOS)
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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About on your iPhone or iPad. Look for the 'Version' field which displays the installed iOS version (for example, 9.3.2).Affected if iOS version is 9.3.2 or earlier
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on your paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About. Look for the 'Version' field showing the installed watchOS version (for example, 2.2.1).Affected if watchOS version is 2.2.1 or earlier
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Confirm IOAcceleratorFamily is in useThis is a kernel framework present on all iOS and watchOS devices by default. No additional configuration check is needed; the vulnerability exists in the IOAcceleratorFamily kernel extension itself.Affected if Device runs the affected iOS or watchOS versions regardless of configuration
A device is affected if it is an iPhone or iPad running iOS 9.3.2 or earlier, or an Apple Watch running watchOS 2.2.1 or earlier.
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 dataApply the vendor-supplied iOS 9.3.3 or later / watchOS 2.2.2 or later patch. Since this is a kernel vulnerability with potential for kernel memory disclosure, prioritize patching on devices handling sensitive clinical data.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4628 — 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-2016-4628 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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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.
- 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