CVE-2016-4777
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 · uneditedThe kernel in Apple iOS before 10, OS X before 10.12, tvOS before 10, and watchOS before 3 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference) via a crafted app.
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 confidenceKernel vulnerability in Apple iOS, OS X, tvOS, and watchOS allowing a maliciously crafted app to execute code with kernel-level privileges or cause a denial of service via invalid pointer dereference. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to iOS 10, OS X 10.12, tvOS 10, and watchOS 3.
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< 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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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Identify the Apple device typeDetermine whether the device is running iOS (iPhone/iPad), macOS (Mac computer), tvOS (Apple TV), or watchOS (Apple Watch). This will determine which version thresholds apply.Affected if Device is any Apple product (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadOpen Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field. Alternatively, connect the device to a computer with iTunes and view the device summary page, or use a mobile device management (MDM) server if enrolled.Affected if Version displayed is less than 10.0 (for example, 9.3.5)
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Check macOS version on MacClick the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name (for example, 10.11.6). Or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal to get the exact version number.Affected if Version displayed is less than 10.12.0 (for example, 10.11.6)
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Check tvOS version on Apple TVGo to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device. The version number is displayed on this screen.Affected if Version displayed is less than 10.0 (for example, 9.2.2)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to General > About, and scroll to see the watchOS version. Or on the watch itself, go to Settings > About.Affected if Version displayed is less than 3.0 (for example, 2.2.2)
If the device runs iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS and the installed version is below 10.0, 10.12.0, 10.0, or 3.0 respectively, the device is affected by this kernel vulnerability.
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 vendor-supplied OS updates: upgrade to iOS 10+, macOS 10.12+, tvOS 10+, or watchOS 3+ to patch the kernel vulnerability. Organizations should inventory affected devices and ensure updates are deployed.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4777 — 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-2016-4777 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
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