dbcve.org
Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4746

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.3.5 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The Keyboards component in Apple iOS before 10 does not properly use a cache for auto-correct suggestions, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information in opportunistic circumstances by leveraging an unintended correction.

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

The Keyboards component in Apple iOS before version 10 does not properly use a cache for auto-correct suggestions, which allows remote attackers to potentially obtain sensitive information in opportunistic circumstances by leveraging unintended text corrections. The vulnerability stems from improper cache handling in the auto-correct mechanism.

MitigationUpgrade to iOS 10 or later to obtain the patched keyboard component. This is an Apple-provided fix requiring OS updates across affected devices.

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
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:<= 9.3.5

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed iOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iOS device and locate the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version displays 9.3.5 or lower (any version <= 9.3.5)
  2. Confirm iOS version is within affected range
    Compare the installed version number against the affected range: Apple iPhone OS <= 9.3.5
    Affected if The installed version is 9.3.5 or any earlier version (e.g., 9.3.4, 9.3.3, etc.)
  3. Verify keyboard auto-correct is in use
    Check if predictive text and auto-correction are enabled in Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Quick Type
    Affected if Auto-correct/predictive text is enabled (this is the default state and required for the vulnerable cache to be populated)

The environment is affected if the device runs iOS version 9.3.5 or earlier with auto-correct functionality enabled.

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 9.3.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to iOS 10 or later to obtain the patched keyboard component. This is an Apple-provided fix requiring OS updates across affected devices.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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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-2016-4746 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