CVE-2017-6981
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 10.3.2 is affected. macOS before 10.12.5 is affected. The issue involves the "iBooks" component. It allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context via a crafted app that uses symlinks.
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 confidenceA symlink handling vulnerability in the iBooks component on iOS before 10.3.2 and macOS before 10.12.5 allows a crafted malicious app to perform privilege escalation and execute arbitrary code in a privileged context through symlink manipulation.
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<= 10.3.1<= 10.12.4CVSS 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 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 on the iOS device and look at the Version fieldAffected if The version listed is 10.3.1 or lower (e.g., 10.3.1, 10.3.0, 10.2.x, etc.)
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Check macOS version on MacClick the Apple menu > About This Mac and look at the macOS version numberAffected if The version listed is 10.12.4 or lower (e.g., 10.12.4, 10.12.3, 10.12.2, etc.)
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Confirm iBooks app is presentSearch for iBooks in Spotlight or check /Applications folder (or the Apps library on iOS)Affected if iBooks is installed (this is the vulnerable component; it is a default app on both platforms)
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Review installed apps for suspicious applicationsCheck the list of installed apps for any unknown or recently installed apps that were not obtained from the official App StoreAffected if A maliciously crafted app is installed that could exploit this symlink vulnerability in iBooks
A user is affected if their iOS device runs version 10.3.1 or lower, or their Mac runs macOS 10.12.4 or lower, and they have a malicious app installed that targets the iBooks 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 10.3.2 or later and macOS 10.12.5 or later to patch the iBooks vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6981 — 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-2017-6981 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