CVE-2016-4781 Apple CVE debrief

Who should care

iPhone and iOS users, mobile device administrators, and enterprise fleet owners with devices on affected versions, especially where physical access is possible or devices may be lost, shared, or unattended.

Technical summary

The vulnerable component is SpringBoard, a core iOS system process. According to the CVE description, physically proximate attackers could bypass the passcode attempt counter and unlock a device through unspecified vectors. The supplied NVD record assigns CVSS 3.0 AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating that physical proximity is required but the potential impact is high if the bypass succeeds. The source corpus does not include exploit details or weaponized reproduction.

Defensive priority

Medium overall; prioritize faster remediation for devices that may be physically accessible, shared, or at risk of loss or theft.

Recommended defensive actions

• Update affected Apple devices to iOS 10.2 or later.
• Verify fleet compliance and identify any devices still running versions earlier than 10.2.
• Follow Apple's HT207422 advisory for vendor guidance and affected scope.
• Treat physically accessible or missing devices as higher-priority incidents under your mobile security process.
• Use the NVD record to confirm the affected version mapping and CVSS context before closing remediation work.

Evidence notes

Based on the CVE description, the Apple vendor advisory HT207422, and the NVD detail page. The source corpus says iOS before 10.2 is affected, while the NVD CPE criteria in the supplied record enumerate iPhone OS through 10.1.1. Timing in this debrief uses the CVE published date of 2017-02-20; the later modified date of 2026-05-13 reflects catalog maintenance rather than original disclosure.

Official resources