CVE-2016-7622 Apple CVE debrief

Who should care

macOS administrators, endpoint security teams, and users of Apple systems running macOS 10.12.1 or earlier should care most. Systems that may open untrusted .gcx files or rely on Grapher are the primary exposure point.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is described as a memory corruption issue in Apple’s Grapher component. The NVD record classifies the affected CPE as macOS versions through 10.12.1 and associates the weakness with CWE-119. Exploitation is tied to processing a crafted .gcx file, which can result in code execution or denial of service through an application crash. The supplied CVSS v3 vector indicates local attack conditions and required user interaction.

Defensive priority

High. The issue is publicly documented, has a high CVSS score, and can lead to code execution on affected macOS versions. Priority should be highest for any systems still running macOS 10.12.1 or earlier.

Recommended defensive actions

• Upgrade affected macOS systems to 10.12.2 or later.
• Inventory endpoints to identify any systems still running macOS 10.12.1 or earlier.
• Treat unexpected or untrusted .gcx files as suspicious and avoid opening them on vulnerable systems.
• Use standard endpoint hardening and application controls to reduce the chance of users opening untrusted files.
• Reference Apple’s advisory for remediation details and confirm vulnerable version coverage before closing the issue.

Evidence notes

The supplied NVD record lists macOS versions up to 10.12.1 as vulnerable and references Apple’s advisory at support.apple.com/HT207423. The record also describes the issue as involving the Grapher component and a crafted .gcx file, with CWE-119 as the weakness category. No exploit chain, proof-of-concept, or KEV listing was provided in the corpus.

Official resources