CVE-2016-4678 Apple CVE debrief

Who should care

macOS administrators, endpoint security teams, and anyone responsible for Macs running versions earlier than 10.12.1. It is most relevant where local access is shared or less trusted, because the issue requires local privileges but can lead to full compromise or system instability.

Technical summary

NVD maps the issue to AppleSMC on macOS versions up to 10.12.0. The vulnerability is described as allowing local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors, and NVD identifies CWE-476 (NULL pointer dereference). The published CVSS vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating a local attack that can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Apple’s advisory is referenced in the NVD record.

Defensive priority

High. Although exploitation requires local privileges, the impact includes privilege escalation and system disruption, and the NVD scoring reflects potential full CIA compromise. Prioritize patching any affected macOS deployment that has not been brought to 10.12.1 or later.

Recommended defensive actions

• Update affected macOS systems to 10.12.1 or later.
• Inventory Macs running versions earlier than 10.12.1 and verify remediation status.
• Limit untrusted local access and apply least-privilege controls on shared systems.
• Treat any unexplained crashes or privilege anomalies on pre-10.12.1 systems as potentially relevant until patched.
• Use the Apple security advisory referenced by NVD to confirm vendor guidance for your fleet.

Evidence notes

The supplied NVD metadata states: affected CPE criteria include macOS versions ending at 10.12.0; the weakness is CWE-476; and the CVSS vector is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The description explicitly names the AppleSMC component and says local users may gain privileges or cause denial of service. NVD references Apple’s support advisory URL, but no additional advisory text was ingested here.

Official resources