CVE-2016-4680
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.1 is affected. tvOS before 10.0.1 is affected. watchOS before 3.1 is affected. The issue involves the "Kernel" component. It allows attackers to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory 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 · moderate confidenceThis is a kernel memory information disclosure vulnerability affecting iOS, tvOS, and watchOS. A malicious application installed on a vulnerable device can read sensitive data from kernel memory, potentially exposing cryptographic keys, credentials, or other privileged information.
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< 10.1< 10.0.1< 3.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 the Apple device OS typeDetermine whether the device runs iOS (iPhone/iPad), tvOS (Apple TV), or watchOS (Apple Watch)Affected if Device runs any of these OS types but version is unknown or unverified
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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed iOS version numberAffected if Version is below 10.1 (for example, 10.0.x or any 9.x release)
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Check tvOS version on Apple TVGo to Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed tvOS version numberAffected if Version is below 10.0.1 (for example, 10.0.0 or any earlier release)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About to view the watchOS version numberAffected if Version is below 3.1 (for example, 3.0.x or any 2.x release)
The device is affected if it runs iOS below 10.1, tvOS below 10.0.1, or watchOS below 3.1, as these versions contain the kernel memory disclosure flaw that allows a malicious app to read privileged kernel memory.
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 data3.110.0.110.1
Apply vendor-supplied OS updates: iOS 10.1 or later, tvOS 10.0.1 or later, watchOS 3.1 or later. For managed environments, deploy updates via MDM and verify completion across all devices.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4680 — 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-2016-4680 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