PatchSiren

PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4682 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-4682 is an Apple ImageIO vulnerability affecting macOS systems in the versions identified by the vendor and NVD. A crafted SGI file could trigger an out-of-bounds read, allowing sensitive information disclosure or an application crash. The issue was publicly recorded on 2017-02-20; the later 2026 modified date is an update to the record, not the original disclosure date.

Vendor
Apple
Product
Unknown
CVSS
HIGH 7.1
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

macOS administrators, endpoint security teams, and users who open untrusted image files should care most. Systems running affected macOS releases and workflows that process SGI images through ImageIO have the highest exposure.

Technical summary

The flaw is an out-of-bounds read in Apple’s ImageIO component when parsing crafted SGI files. NVD classifies the weakness as CWE-125 and assigns CVSS 3.0 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H (7.1 High), indicating user interaction is required and the primary impacts are confidentiality and availability. The vendor references and NVD record describe affected macOS releases before the patched versions, with NVD’s CPE scope marking macOS through 10.12.0 as vulnerable.

Defensive priority

High. Even though the attack requires user interaction, the impact includes sensitive information disclosure and application crash, and the affected component is a common file-processing path.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Confirm whether any macOS systems are running versions covered by the advisory and NVD CPE data.
  • Apply Apple’s security update for the affected macOS release(s) referenced in the vendor advisories.
  • Reduce exposure to untrusted SGI files and other externally sourced image content on vulnerable systems.
  • Prioritize patching endpoints used for browsing, email, messaging, or media workflows where users may open attacker-supplied files.
  • Validate that endpoint management and software inventory can identify the affected macOS build level across the fleet.

Evidence notes

Official and source-corpus evidence includes the NVD record for CVE-2016-4682, Apple vendor advisories at support.apple.com/HT207170 and support.apple.com/HT207275, and third-party references cited by Apple. NVD lists CVSS 3.0 7.1 High, CWE-125, and a vulnerable macOS CPE ending at 10.12.0. The source description states macOS before 10.12 and before 10.12.1 are affected; the record should be interpreted using the vendor advisory context and NVD’s version mapping together.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-4682 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4682

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

  • CVE-2016-4682 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4682

    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.