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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7663 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7663 is a critical Apple CoreFoundation vulnerability published on 2017-02-20. According to NVD, a crafted string could trigger memory corruption and an application crash, and may allow remote code execution on affected iOS, macOS, and watchOS versions.

Vendor
Apple
Product
Unknown
CVSS
CRITICAL 9.8
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 administrators, mobile security teams, endpoint defenders, and users or organizations running iOS, macOS, or watchOS versions within the affected ranges should prioritize review and remediation.

Technical summary

NVD maps this issue to CWE-119 (improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer). The affected versions listed are iOS before 10.2, macOS before 10.12.2, and watchOS before 3.1.3. The CVSS v3.0 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating network-reachable impact without privileges or user interaction, with potential high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Defensive priority

Critical. The combination of remote attackability, no privileges, no user interaction, and potential code execution places this in a high-priority patch category for Apple environments.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Confirm whether any iOS devices are below 10.2, macOS systems are below 10.12.2, or watchOS devices are below 3.1.3.
  • Apply the relevant Apple vendor updates referenced by the linked advisories as soon as possible.
  • Prioritize externally reachable or unmanaged Apple devices for immediate remediation.
  • Use asset inventory and version compliance checks to verify upgrade status across the fleet.
  • Monitor for unexpected application crashes or memory-corruption symptoms in affected environments until patching is complete.

Evidence notes

The debrief is based on the supplied NVD record and its linked official references only. NVD states the issue affects CoreFoundation and can be triggered via a crafted string. The affected-version bounds come from NVD CPE data. Apple vendor advisory links are included in the source corpus, but no additional advisory text was used.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-7663 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7663

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-7663 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7663

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.