PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief
CVE-2016-4692 Apple CVE debrief
CVE-2016-4692 is a high-severity Apple WebKit memory-corruption issue that could be triggered by a crafted website. In affected products, a remote attacker could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service through an application crash. The CVE record was published on 2017-02-20, and the NVD entry lists Apple-linked advisories and affected version ranges for iOS, Safari, iCloud, and iTunes.
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- Unknown
- CVSS
- HIGH 8.8
- 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
Apple device and application administrators, enterprise mobility teams, browser/security engineers, and end users running affected iOS, Safari, iCloud, or iTunes versions should treat this as a priority patch item. Teams responsible for WebKit-based browsing exposure should also review deployment status.
Technical summary
NVD classifies the weakness as CWE-119 and assigns CVSS 3.0 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The issue is in WebKit and is reachable via a crafted web site, meaning the attack surface is client-side and depends on user interaction. The impact includes memory corruption, possible arbitrary code execution, and application crash/denial of service. The NVD record notes affected Apple products and version ranges across iOS, Safari, iCloud, and iTunes.
Defensive priority
High — prioritize patching affected Apple clients and browser-facing surfaces.
Recommended defensive actions
- Update iOS to 10.2 or later on affected devices.
- Update Safari to 10.0.2 or later on affected systems.
- Update iCloud to 6.1 or later where applicable.
- Update iTunes to 12.5.4 or later where applicable.
- Verify fleet inventory for Apple products that include WebKit exposure and confirm patched versions are deployed.
- Until remediation is complete, reduce exposure to untrusted web content on affected systems and monitor for crashes or instability in browser-facing applications.
Evidence notes
All substantive claims here come from the supplied NVD record and its referenced Apple-linked advisories. The NVD description states iOS before 10.2, Safari before 10.0.2, iCloud before 6.1, and iTunes before 12.5.4; the CPE criteria in the same record enumerate end versions of 10.1.1, 10.0.1, 6.0.1, and 12.5.3 respectively. That version-range mismatch is noted in the evidence rather than resolved here. NVD also lists CVSS 8.8 high and CWE-119.
Sources and references
Verified primary and authoritative sources
-
CVE-2016-4692 CVE Program record
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4692
CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.
-
CVE-2016-4692 NVD vulnerability detail
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4692
NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.
Supplemental references
-
Source reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201706-15
-
Mitigation or vendor reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://support.apple.com/HT207421
[email protected] - Vendor Advisory
-
Mitigation or vendor reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://support.apple.com/HT207422
[email protected] - Vendor Advisory
-
Mitigation or vendor reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://support.apple.com/HT207424
[email protected] - Vendor Advisory
-
Mitigation or vendor reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://support.apple.com/HT207427
[email protected] - Vendor Advisory
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.