dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4710

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.11.6 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
WindowServer in Apple OS X before 10.12 allows local users to obtain root access via vectors that leverage "type confusion," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4709.

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

Type confusion vulnerability in the WindowServer component of Apple OS X versions prior to 10.12 allows an authenticated local attacker to escalate privileges to root by exploiting improper type handling in the window server subsystem.

MitigationUpdate affected systems to OS X 10.12 or later to patch the vulnerability in WindowServer.

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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.11.6

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. Determine the installed macOS/OS X version
    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select 'About This Mac', and note the version number displayed under the macOS/OS X name
    Affected if The displayed version is 10.11.6 or earlier (any version <= 10.11.6)
  2. Confirm the exact OS build version
    In 'About This Mac', click 'Version' to see the full build number (such as 15G31a)
    Affected if The build number corresponds to an OS X 10.11.6 or earlier release
  3. Verify WindowServer is accessible
    Check that the WindowServer process is running by opening Activity Monitor or running 'ps -ax | grep WindowServer' in Terminal
    Affected if WindowServer is running (this is the default state on macOS) and the OS version is <= 10.11.6
  4. Check for available system updates
    Open System Preferences > Software Update to see if any updates are available
    Affected if An update to OS X 10.12 or later is available and not yet installed

A system is affected if it is running any version of OS X 10.11.6 or earlier, since the vulnerability exists in the WindowServer component of those versions.

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 10.11.6
Interim mitigation

Update affected systems to OS X 10.12 or later to patch the vulnerability in WindowServer.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2016-4710 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