dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4780

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.12.0 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.12.1 is affected. The issue involves the "Thunderbolt" component. It allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (NULL 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 · high confidence

CVE-2016-4780 is a vulnerability in the Thunderbolt component of macOS versions prior to 10.12.1. The flaw allows a malicious crafted application to either execute arbitrary code in a privileged context (likely with elevated system privileges) or cause a denial of service via NULL pointer dereference. The attack requires the victim to run the specially crafted app.

MitigationUpgrade macOS to version 10.12.1 or later to receive the Thunderbolt component patch. Since this vulnerability is exploited via a malicious application, also ensure application execution policies restrict code from untrusted sources.

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

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. Look for the version number in the format X.X.X
    Affected if Version is 10.12.0 or lower (any version below 10.12.1)
  2. Verify Thunderbolt component presence
    Check if Thunderbolt hardware exists and the driver is loaded. Run 'system_profiler SPThunderboltType' in Terminal to list Thunderbolt controllers
    Affected if System has Thunderbolt hardware and the driver is active
  3. Confirm Thunderbolt service status
    Run 'launchctl list | grep -i thunderbolt' or check System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General for any Thunderbolt-related prompts or settings
    Affected if Thunderbolt service is running or configurable on the system

The system is affected if macOS version is 10.12.0 or lower AND the machine has Thunderbolt hardware with the component 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 10.12.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade macOS to version 10.12.1 or later to receive the Thunderbolt component patch. Since this vulnerability is exploited via a malicious application, also ensure application execution policies restrict code from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2016-4780 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