dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4775

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0 / 10.0 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
The kernel in Apple OS X before 10.12, tvOS before 10, and watchOS before 3 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) 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 · moderate confidence

Kernel memory corruption vulnerability in Apple OS X prior to 10.12, tvOS prior to 10, and watchOS prior to 3 allows local authenticated users to escalate privileges to root or cause denial of service through unspecified vectors.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches by updating to macOS 10.12 or later, tvOS 10 or later, and watchOS 3 or later respectively.

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:< 10.12.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 10.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 3.0

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. Identify your Apple platform
    Determine whether the system is running macOS (Mac computer), tvOS (Apple TV), or watchOS (Apple Watch)
    Affected if Running any of the listed platforms without knowing the version
  2. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal on Mac, or check About This Mac
    Affected if Version is below 10.12.0
  3. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV
    Affected if Version is below 10.0
  4. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or check directly on Apple Watch in Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 3.0

You are affected if the installed OS version on any macOS, tvOS, or watchOS device is below the respective threshold (10.12.0, 10.0, or 3.0) and you have local authenticated user access.

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 3.0 / 10.0 / 10.12.0 or later
Fixed in 3.010.010.12.0
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches by updating to macOS 10.12 or later, tvOS 10 or later, and watchOS 3 or later respectively.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.

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-2016-4775 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