CVE-2016-7651
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.2 is affected. watchOS before 3.1.1 is affected. The issue involves the "Accounts" component, which allows local users to bypass intended authorization restrictions by leveraging the mishandling of an app uninstall.
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 confidenceA local authorization bypass vulnerability in the Accounts component of iOS before 10.2 and watchOS before 3.1.1 allows local users to retain access to account authorizations after an app is uninstalled. The mishandling of app uninstallation fails to properly revoke the permissions and authorization grants that were assigned to the removed application.
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<= 10.1.1<= 2.2.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field. Alternatively, use the command 'sw_vers' via SSH or terminal if you have jailbreak access.Affected if The version displayed is 10.1.1 or earlier (e.g., 10.1, 10.0.x, 9.x)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the watchOS version. Alternatively, check on the Apple Watch at Settings > General > About.Affected if The version displayed is 2.2.2 or earlier (e.g., 2.2.1, 2.2, 2.1.x, 2.0.x)
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Identify apps that use the Accounts frameworkReview installed apps for any that integrate with social accounts, calendars, contacts, or other services that utilize iOS Accounts framework (often apps with 'Sign in with Twitter/Facebook/Google' or calendar sync features).Affected if Any apps using the Accounts component are installed and have been granted authorization permissions
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Check for orphaned account authorizationsOn a jailbroken device, inspect the Accounts database at /var/mobile/Library/Accounts/Accounts3.sqlite for entries that reference uninstalled apps. On non-jailbroken devices, manually review each app's account permissions in Settings > Passwords & Accounts and compare against currently installed apps.Affected if You find account authorizations or stored credentials for apps that are no longer installed on the device
A device is affected if it runs iOS 10.1.1 or earlier OR watchOS 2.2.2 or earlier AND has had any apps uninstalled that were previously granted account authorization permissions through the Accounts component.
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 dataUpdate affected devices to iOS 10.2 or later, and watchOS 3.1.1 or later to receive the Apple-provided patch that corrects the Accounts component's handling of app uninstallation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2016-7651 — 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-2016-7651 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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- 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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