CVE-2016-4754
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 · uneditedServerDocs Server in Apple OS X Server before 5.2 supports the RC4 cipher, which might allow remote attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceServerDocs Server in Apple OS X Server before version 5.2 supports the RC4 cipher, a deprecated cryptographic algorithm with known weaknesses that can be exploited to compromise encrypted communications.
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<= 5.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Apple OS X Server versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion or check /System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist for the Server versionAffected if The installed version is 5.1 or earlier (versions prior to 5.2)
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Verify ServerDocs Server is runningCheck if the ServerDocs service is active using: launchctl list | grep -i serverdocs or ps aux | grep -i serverdocsAffected if ServerDocs Server is currently running on an affected OS X Server version (5.1 or earlier)
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Locate ServerDocs configurationExamine the ServerDocs configuration directory, typically found in /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2 or /etc/serverdocs with file extensions such as .conf, .xml, or ssl.confAffected if A configuration file exists and contains cipher settings (the presence of RC4 or 'arcfour' indicates the vulnerable cipher is available)
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Check for RC4 cipher in SSL/TLS configurationSearch the ServerDocs SSL configuration files for RC4-related entries: grep -ri 'RC4' /Library/Server/Web/Config/ or grep -ri 'arcfour' /etc/serverdocs/Affected if RC4, arcfour, or similar weak cipher strings appear in the ServerDocs SSL configuration, indicating the vulnerable cipher is enabled
You are affected if Apple OS X Server version 5.1 or earlier is installed AND ServerDocs is running with RC4 cipher support explicitly configured or available in its SSL/TLS settings.
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 dataDisable RC4 cipher support in ServerDocs Server configuration and ensure only strong, modern cipher suites are enabled.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4754 — 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-2016-4754 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