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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7742 Apple CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7742 is a high-severity Apple macOS vulnerability in the xar archive component. According to the CVE description, a crafted archive can trigger use of uninitialized memory locations and allow arbitrary code execution; Apple’s advisory is referenced by NVD as HT207423. The record was published on 2017-02-20 and last modified by NVD on 2026-05-13.

Vendor
Apple
Product
Unknown
CVSS
HIGH 7.8
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

macOS administrators, endpoint security teams, and anyone responsible for systems that open, transfer, or automatically process archive files should care most. This is especially important in environments that ingest untrusted files from email, web downloads, shared drives, or build pipelines.

Technical summary

The official record describes an issue in Apple’s xar component affecting macOS before 10.12.2. A crafted archive can trigger use of uninitialized memory locations and lead to arbitrary code execution. NVD maps the issue to CWE-20 and lists a CVSS v3.0 vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. NVD’s CPE criteria mark macOS versions through 10.12.1 as vulnerable.

Defensive priority

High: the issue is rated 7.8/HIGH and involves code execution in a core archive-handling component. Systems that routinely handle external or untrusted archives should be prioritized for patch verification and exposure reduction.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade affected macOS systems to 10.12.2 or later.
  • Verify fleet coverage against the affected macOS range identified in the official record.
  • Treat untrusted archives as high-risk inputs and route them through mail, web, and file-transfer controls.
  • Prioritize patch validation on endpoints and services that automatically unpack or inspect archives.
  • Review Apple advisory HT207423 and confirm remediation status in your environment.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based only on the supplied official metadata: the CVE description, NVD record fields, and the Apple advisory URL cited by NVD. The affected-version boundary is described as "before 10.12.2" in the CVE summary, while NVD CPE criteria mark macOS through 10.12.1 as vulnerable; both are reflected here without extrapolation.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-7742 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7742

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

  • CVE-2016-7742 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7742

    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.