CVE-2016-7643 Apple CVE debrief

Who should care

Organizations and users running affected Apple iOS, macOS, or watchOS releases should care, especially where devices regularly browse untrusted or user-supplied web content. Security teams responsible for fleet patching, endpoint management, and browser exposure should prioritize it because the trigger is remote and requires only user interaction with a crafted site.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is in Apple’s ImageIO component. According to the supplied CVE description and NVD weakness data, a crafted website can cause an out-of-bounds read, which may leak process memory and/or lead to an application crash. The NVD record ties the issue to Apple OS families and lists affected CPE ranges for iPhone OS, macOS, and watchOS, while the CVE description states affected versions before iOS 10.2, macOS 10.12.2, and watchOS 3.1.3.

Defensive priority

High — patch promptly on affected Apple devices because the flaw is remotely triggerable via web content and impacts both confidentiality and availability.

Recommended defensive actions

• Update affected iOS devices to 10.2 or later.
• Update affected macOS systems to 10.12.2 or later.
• Update affected watchOS devices to 3.1.3 or later.
• Review Apple’s linked advisories and confirm fleet compliance against the affected versions listed in the CVE record.
• Treat unexplained browser or app crashes involving image parsing as a signal to verify patch status and investigate for malicious web content exposure.

Evidence notes

The supplied CVE description says the issue affects Apple products via the ImageIO component and can be triggered by a crafted website to obtain sensitive information from process memory or cause a denial of service. The NVD metadata classifies the weakness as CWE-125 and provides affected Apple CPE entries. The record also links to Apple support advisories HT207422, HT207423, and HT207487, plus third-party references from SecurityFocus and SecurityTracker.

Official resources