CVE-2017-7079
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. iTunes before 12.7 is affected. The issue involves the "Data Sync" component. It allows attackers to access iOS backups (written by iTunes) via a crafted app.
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 confidenceThe Data Sync component in iTunes before version 12.7 contains an improper access control vulnerability. A malicious application installed on the same system can exploit this flaw to access iOS device backup files created by iTunes, potentially exposing sensitive user data including messages, contacts, photos, and other personal information stored in backups.
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<= 12.6.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify iTunes is installedCheck for iTunes installation on the system - on Windows this can be done via the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{AppID} or by locating the iTunes.exe file in Program Files or Program Files (x86)Affected if iTunes is not installed on the system
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Determine installed iTunes versionOpen iTunes and navigate to Help > About iTunes, or right-click the iTunes shortcut and select Properties to view the version information. On Windows, version info may also be found in the registry or the iTunes executable file propertiesAffected if Cannot determine version or iTunes is not present
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Compare version against affected rangeReview the installed version number and determine if it is 12.6.2 or earlier. The affected version range is anything <= 12.6.2Affected if Installed version is 12.6.2 or lower (e.g., 12.6.1, 12.6.0, 12.5.x, etc.)
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Check for existing iOS device backupsLocate iTunes backup folders - on Windows these are typically found in %APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\ or %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\. Check if any backup folders existAffected if iOS backups exist on the system and iTunes version is <= 12.6.2
The environment is affected if iTunes version 12.6.2 or lower is installed AND iOS device backups created by iTunes are present on the system, as this combination allows a malicious local application to access the backup data.
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 dataUpgrade iTunes to version 12.7 or later to obtain the patched Data Sync component. As a defense-in-depth measure, ensure only trusted applications are installed and avoid running untrusted software on systems containing sensitive iOS backups.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-7079 — 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-2017-7079 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