Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2016-4738
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 · uneditedlibxslt in Apple iOS before 10, OS X before 10.12, tvOS before 10, and watchOS before 3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability exists in libxslt, an XSLT processing library included in Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into visiting a crafted malicious website, leading to memory corruption that enables arbitrary code execution or denial of service.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0= 9.0< 10.0< 10.12.0< 10.0< 3.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or System Settings > About This MacAffected if Version is lower than 10.12.0 (e.g., 10.11.x, 10.10.x)
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Check iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the iOS device or use ideviceinfo via iTunes/ideviceinfo toolAffected if Version is lower than 10.0 (e.g., 9.x, 8.x)
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Check tvOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the Apple TV or check via Xcode device infoAffected if Version is lower than 10.0 (e.g., 9.x)
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Check watchOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the Apple Watch paired deviceAffected if Version is lower than 3.0 (e.g., 2.x, 1.x)
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Check libxslt version on DebianRun 'dpkg -l libxslt' or 'xsltproc --version' to identify the installed libxslt package versionAffected if Running Debian 8.0 or 9.0 with libxslt installed and XSLT processing enabled
If the OS version is below 10.12.0 for macOS, below 10.0 for iOS/tvOS, or below 3.0 for watchOS, or if running Debian 8.0/9.0 with libxslt, the environment is vulnerable to this CVE.
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 data3.010.010.12.0
Apply the vendor-supplied OS updates: iOS 10 or later, macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later, tvOS 10 or later, and watchOS 3 or later. Organizations should deploy these updates across all affected devices.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4738 — 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-2016-4738 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