CVE-2016-7594 Apple CVE debrief

Who should care

Apple device administrators, mobile device management teams, endpoint security teams, and users on affected iOS, macOS, or watchOS builds should care. Because exploitation is tied to a crafted website and requires user interaction, organizations that manage browser usage or allow broad web access should prioritize remediation.

Technical summary

The NVD record identifies a memory-corruption weakness in Apple’s ICU component (CWE-119). The supplied CVE description states that a remote attacker can trigger the flaw via a crafted website, leading to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service via memory corruption and application crash. The record’s CPE criteria list affected versions up to iOS 10.1.1, macOS 10.12.1, and watchOS 2.2.2, while the CVE description summarizes the issue as affecting versions before iOS 10.2, macOS 10.12.2, and watchOS 3.1.3.

Defensive priority

High — network-triggerable, user-interaction-required memory corruption with potential code execution merits prompt patching.

Recommended defensive actions

• Update affected Apple devices to the fixed releases referenced by Apple’s advisories: iOS 10.2 or later, macOS 10.12.2 or later, and watchOS 3.1.3 or later.
• Verify fleet exposure against the vulnerable version ranges listed in the NVD record and Apple advisories.
• Prioritize systems where users regularly browse the web or open untrusted content.
• Treat any unexplained crashes on vulnerable builds as a security event and review for indicators of compromise.
• Use central management to confirm remediation across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch inventories.

Evidence notes

All facts in this debrief come from the supplied NVD CVE record and its metadata. The record states publishedAt 2017-02-20T08:59:01.933Z, modifiedAt 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033Z, CVSS vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, and weakness CWE-119. The description says the issue affects iOS before 10.2, macOS before 10.12.2, and watchOS before 3.1.3 via the ICU component and a crafted website. The CPE criteria in the same record enumerate vulnerable versions up to iOS 10.1.1, macOS 10.12.1, and watchOS 2.2.2, so the supplied corpus contains a version-range discrepancy that should be noted when validating exposure. Apple support URLs are listed in the record as references, but their page contents were not fetched here.

Official resources