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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7615 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7615 is an Apple Kernel denial-of-service issue affecting older iOS, macOS, and watchOS releases. The supplied NVD record describes local exploitation by a user with limited privileges and rates the issue as medium severity because the impact is availability-only and can terminate or disrupt the system. This is a patch-priority item for organizations that still support affected Apple versions, especially where users have local access or shared-device exposure.

Vendor
Apple
Product
CVE-2016-7615
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

Apple device owners and administrators running affected iOS, macOS, or watchOS versions; endpoint management teams; and organizations with shared, kiosk, lab, or otherwise locally accessible Apple systems.

Technical summary

The supplied record identifies the issue as a flaw in the Apple Kernel component that allows local users to cause a denial of service through unspecified vectors. NVD lists CVSS v3.0 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating a local attack requiring low privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact. The record’s descriptive text says iOS before 10.2, macOS before 10.12.2, and watchOS before 3.1.3 are affected, while the CPE criteria in the same record list end versions of iOS 10.1.1, macOS 10.12.1, and watchOS 2.2.2; that scope should be verified against Apple’s advisories and the NVD entry before remediation planning.

Defensive priority

Medium. The issue is local-only and impacts availability rather than confidentiality or integrity, but it affects core kernel functionality on unsupported or lagging Apple systems.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade affected Apple devices to vendor-fixed releases referenced by the Apple advisories and NVD record.
  • Prioritize patching systems that permit local logins, shared access, or kiosk-style use because the attack requires local privilege.
  • Review Apple device inventories for iOS, macOS, and watchOS versions at or below the affected ranges listed in the NVD record.
  • Use the official CVE and NVD records, plus Apple vendor advisories, to confirm the precise fixed versions before scheduling remediation.
  • Treat the issue as an availability risk and include reboot/service disruption expectations in change planning.

Evidence notes

The evidence corpus includes the NVD CVE record and Apple vendor advisories referenced from that record. The narrative description states affected versions as iOS before 10.2, macOS before 10.12.2, and watchOS before 3.1.3. The NVD CPE criteria in the same record list different end versions: iOS 10.1.1, macOS 10.12.1, and watchOS 2.2.2. Because of this internal scope mismatch, remediation should be confirmed against the official Apple advisories and the NVD detail page. No exploit code, weaponized reproduction, or public KEV/ransomware designation is present in the supplied corpus.

Official resources

Publicly disclosed via the official CVE/NVD record; the supplied record shows a published date of 2017-02-20T08:59:02.637Z and no KEV listing.