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TvosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4688

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.3 / 10.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.1 is affected. macOS before 10.12.1 is affected. tvOS before 10.0.1 is affected. watchOS before 3.1 is affected. watchOS before 3.1.3 is affected. The issue involves the "FontParser" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) via a crafted font.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in FontParser allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by tricking users into opening specially crafted font files on affected Apple devices.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches (iOS 10.1+, macOS 10.12.1+, tvOS 10.0.1+, watchOS 3.1+/3.1.3+) to resolve the FontParser buffer overflow.

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
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 10.0.1
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.12.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 3.1.3

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple TV and note the version number
    Affected if Version is lower than 10.0.1
  2. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number displayed
    Affected if Version is lower than 10.12.1
  3. Check watchOS version
    Open Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About and note the watchOS version
    Affected if Version is lower than 3.1.3

Any Apple device running tvOS below 10.0.1, macOS below 10.12.1, or watchOS below 3.1.3 is affected by this FontParser vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.1.3 / 10.0.1 / 10.12.1 or later
Fixed in 3.1.310.0.110.12.1
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches (iOS 10.1+, macOS 10.12.1+, tvOS 10.0.1+, watchOS 3.1+/3.1.3+) to resolve the FontParser buffer overflow.

Fix this in Tvos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2016-4688 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