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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4665 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4665 is a low-severity information disclosure issue in Apple’s Sandbox Profiles component. According to the supplied record, a crafted app could read audio-recording metadata on affected Apple mobile and wearable OS versions. The vulnerability was published on 2017-02-20 and later modified in the NVD record on 2026-05-13, which is record maintenance rather than the original disclosure date.

Vendor
Apple
Product
Unknown
CVSS
LOW 3.3
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-20
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-20
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Organizations that manage iOS, tvOS, or watchOS devices; Apple mobile app teams; MDM and endpoint security administrators; and users running older affected Apple OS releases should care, especially where device privacy or app sandbox boundaries matter.

Technical summary

The supplied CVE describes a sandboxing flaw in Apple’s Sandbox Profiles component that can expose audio-recording metadata to a crafted app. NVD classifies the issue as local, requiring user interaction, with low confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact (CVSS v3.0: AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N). NVD also maps the weakness to CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). The record’s description states affected versions include iOS before 10.1, tvOS before 10.0.1, and watchOS before 3.1; the NVD CPE criteria in the supplied source item also enumerate affected Apple OS version ranges.

Defensive priority

Low

Recommended defensive actions

  • Update affected Apple devices to the vendor-fixed releases described in the record: iOS 10.1 or later, tvOS 10.0.1 or later, and watchOS 3.1 or later.
  • Use Apple’s official advisories linked in the record to verify exact fixed builds for each platform before maintenance windows.
  • Inventory devices that may still run older Apple OS versions and prioritize them for patching or replacement.
  • Review app behavior and privacy controls around audio-recording metadata exposure, especially in managed-device fleets.
  • Treat the issue as an information-disclosure risk rather than code-execution risk, but still patch promptly on exposed endpoints.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based only on the supplied CVE record and its official references. The record states that a crafted app could read audio-recording metadata via the Sandbox Profiles component on affected Apple products. NVD metadata in the supplied source item lists CVSS v3.0 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N and CWE-200. The record also links Apple vendor advisories (support.apple.com/HT207269, HT207270, HT207271) as the primary remediation references. The modified date in 2026 reflects NVD record updates, not the original vulnerability publication date.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-4665 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4665

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-4665 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4665

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.