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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4680 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4680 is a medium-severity Apple kernel information disclosure issue. According to the CVE and NVD metadata, a crafted app could obtain sensitive information from kernel memory on affected iOS, tvOS, and watchOS devices. Apple’s affected-version thresholds indicate the issue was addressed in iOS 10.1, tvOS 10.0.1, and watchOS 3.1. Because the impact is confidentiality-only, the main concern is exposure of sensitive kernel data rather than direct code execution or device takeover.

Vendor
Apple
Product
Unknown
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.5
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

Mobile device management teams, Apple platform administrators, app security reviewers, and users running iOS before 10.1, tvOS before 10.0.1, or watchOS before 3.1. Organizations that distribute or allow apps on managed Apple devices should prioritize verification of OS patch levels.

Technical summary

The NVD record maps this issue to CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) and a CVSS 3.0 vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. In practical terms, a crafted app on an affected device could retrieve sensitive information from kernel memory. The supplied corpus does not indicate integrity or availability impact, and no exploit details are included here.

Defensive priority

Medium. Prioritize patching affected Apple devices because the issue can expose high-value kernel memory, but the available metadata indicates no direct integrity or availability impact.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Update affected devices to iOS 10.1 or later, tvOS 10.0.1 or later, and watchOS 3.1 or later.
  • Verify patch compliance across managed fleets, especially devices that may not receive automatic updates promptly.
  • Review app distribution and installation controls on managed Apple devices to reduce exposure to untrusted or unauthorized apps.
  • Use the official Apple and NVD records to confirm remediation status before closing remediation tickets.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based on the supplied CVE description and NVD metadata. The record states that iOS before 10.1, tvOS before 10.0.1, and watchOS before 3.1 are affected, and that the issue involves the Kernel component. NVD classifies the weakness as CWE-200 and provides CVSS 3.0 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. No additional exploit or proof-of-concept details were used.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-4680 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4680

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

  • CVE-2016-4680 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4680

    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.