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Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2017-2403

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.12.3 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 10.12.4 is affected. The issue involves the "Printing" component. A format-string vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted ipp: or ipps: URL.

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

A format-string vulnerability in the Printing component of macOS before 10.12.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted ipp: or ipps: URLs. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied format strings in the printing subsystem, enabling code execution when a user visits a malicious website or opens a crafted file containing the malicious URL.

MitigationUpgrade affected systems to macOS 10.12.4 or later to patch the format-string vulnerability in the Printing component. Until patched, disable printer sharing and warn users not to open untrusted ipp:/ipps: URLs.

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:<= 10.12.3

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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. Check installed macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or execute 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType'
    Affected if Version is 10.12.3 or earlier (any version up to and including 10.12.3)
  2. Verify the Printing service is present
    Check for CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) by running 'cupsd --version' or checking /usr/sbin/cupsd
    Affected if CUPS printing service is installed and operational on the system
  3. Confirm IPP/IPPS URL handling is available
    Attempt to access a printer via 'lpstat -a' or check if the system accepts ipp: or ipps: URL schemes via 'ls /etc/cups/ppd/'
    Affected if The system has configured printers or IPP printing capabilities enabled

A system is affected if it runs macOS 10.12.3 or earlier and has the CUPS printing service enabled, as this combination allows the format-string vulnerability in the Printing component to be exploited via malicious ipp: or ipps: URLs.

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 10.12.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade affected systems to macOS 10.12.4 or later to patch the format-string vulnerability in the Printing component. Until patched, disable printer sharing and warn users not to open untrusted ipp:/ipps: URLs.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2017-2403 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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