dbcve.org
Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2016-4781

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.1.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.2 is affected. The issue involves the "SpringBoard" component, which allows physically proximate attackers to bypass the passcode attempt counter and unlock a device 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

The SpringBoard component in iOS before 10.2 contains a logic flaw that allows a physically proximate attacker to bypass the passcode attempt counter, enabling device unlock without triggering lockout after failed attempts.

MitigationUpdate affected iOS devices to version 10.2 or later to remediate this passcode bypass vulnerability.

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:<= 10.1.1

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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check the iOS version on the device
    On the iOS device, go to Settings > General > About and note the number next to 'Version'. Alternatively, connect the device to iTunes and view the device summary page which displays the iOS version.
    Affected if The displayed version is 10.1.1 or any version number lower than 10.1.1 (e.g., 10.1, 10.0.x, 9.x)
  2. Confirm the device is an iPhone or iPad
    Verify the device model. This vulnerability affects iPhone and iPad devices running the affected iOS versions.
    Affected if The device is an iPhone or iPad running iOS 10.1.1 or earlier

The device is affected if it is an iPhone or iPad running iOS version 10.1.1 or any earlier version.

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 10.1.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected iOS devices to version 10.2 or later to remediate this passcode bypass vulnerability.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $880
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,408.

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-2016-4781 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