dbcve.org
XcodeApplication · Apple

CVE-2016-4705

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
otool in Apple Xcode before 8 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4704.

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

otool in Apple Xcode before version 8 contains a memory corruption vulnerability that can be exploited locally to gain elevated privileges or cause a denial of service through application crash.

MitigationUpgrade to Xcode 8 or later to obtain the patched otool binary, or remove/disable vulnerable Xcode installations until an upgrade can be performed.

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
XcodeApplication
Affected:<= 7.3.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Verify Xcode is installed
    Check for Xcode installation by looking for /Applications/Xcode.app or running 'xcode-select -p' to find the developer directory path
    Affected if No Xcode installation found means this CVE does not apply
  2. Determine installed Xcode version
    Run 'xcodebuild -version' or check the version via Xcode app info (right-click Xcode.app > Get Info). Compare the reported version against <= 7.3.1
    Affected if Xcode version 7.3.1 or earlier indicates the otool binary is vulnerable
  3. Locate the otool binary
    Find otool within the Xcode toolchain: typically at [Xcode_path]/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin/otool or /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchains/XcodeDefault.xctoolchain/usr/bin/otool
    Affected if The otool binary exists in a Xcode 7.3.1 or earlier installation
  4. Confirm vulnerability applies
    Verify the otool binary is from an affected Xcode version by checking the parent Xcode version - the vulnerability is in the otool binary itself, so any use of otool from Xcode <= 7.3.1 triggers the flaw
    Affected if The system has Xcode <= 7.3.1 installed and otool is accessible from that installation

A system is affected if Xcode version 7.3.1 or earlier is installed and the otool binary from that installation is accessible or being used.

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 a release after 7.3.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Xcode 8 or later to obtain the patched otool binary, or remove/disable vulnerable Xcode installations until an upgrade can be performed.

Fix this in Xcode Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-4705 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