CVE-2017-2450
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 10.3 is affected. macOS before 10.12.4 is affected. tvOS before 10.2 is affected. watchOS before 3.2 is affected. The issue involves the "CoreText" component. It allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read and application crash) via a crafted font file.
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 vulnerability in Apple's CoreText font rendering engine allows remote attackers to deliver a crafted font file (e.g., via malicious website or document) that triggers an out-of-bounds read, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents or causing the application to crash.
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<= 10.2.1<= 10.12.3<= 10.1.1<= 3.1.3CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Check the iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal on a Mac connected to the deviceAffected if The version is 10.2.1 or earlier (e.g., 10.2, 10.1, 10.0)
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Check the macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in TerminalAffected if The version is 10.12.3 or earlier (e.g., 10.12.3, 10.12.2, 10.12.1, 10.12.0)
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Check the tvOS versionGo to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV, or check via Xcode device infoAffected if The version is 10.1.1 or earlier
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Check the watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone > General > About, or check via XcodeAffected if The version is 3.1.3 or earlier
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Verify CoreText framework presenceOn macOS, run 'ls /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreText.framework' to confirm the framework is installed (it is a system component)Affected if The framework exists (it is present by default on all affected OS versions)
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Determine exposure to untrusted font filesCheck if the system commonly opens font files from untrusted sources: document viewers, web browsers, email attachments, or third-party apps that process font filesAffected if Users or applications routinely open font files from websites, email, or other untrusted sources without validation
The environment is affected if the OS version falls within any of the affected ranges (iOS <=10.2.1, macOS <=10.12.3, tvOS <=10.1.1, watchOS <=3.1.3) and the system processes font files from potentially untrusted sources.
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 dataApply the relevant OS security updates: iOS 10.3+, macOS 10.12.4+, tvOS 10.2+, or watchOS 3.2+ to address the vulnerable CoreText component.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-2450 — 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-2017-2450 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data