Vulnerability report

Trusted Third Party Report Confirmed Confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2016-4655

iOS

Apple / iOS

Watch CVE-2016-4655 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 5.5 · Medium
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Trusted Third Party Report
EPSS
33.4%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2016-4655 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Apple iOS. The kernel in Apple iOS before 9.3.5 allows attackers to obtain sensitive information from memory via a crafted app.

Have exploitation attempts been observed?

Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Apple / iOS.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

The kernel in Apple iOS before 9.3.5 allows attackers to obtain sensitive information from memory via a crafted app

The kernel in Apple iOS before 9.3.5 allows attackers to obtain sensitive information from memory via a crafted app.

View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
25 Aug 2016
Exploitation Attempts Reported
24 May 2022
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required

Tags

ios metasploit cisa metasploit_scanner

CVE References

  • CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4655
  • APPLE-SA-2016-09-14-1 lists.apple.com · Vendor Advisory http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Sep/msg00005.html
  • APPLE-SA-2016-08-25-1 lists.apple.com · Vendor Advisory http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Aug/msg00000.html
  • 44836 exploit-db.com · Exploit https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44836/
  • 92651 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92651
  • 1036694 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036694
  • 92965 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92965
  • blog.lookout.com/blog/2016/08/25/trident-pegasus blog.lookout.com · CVE Record https://blog.lookout.com/blog/2016/08/25/trident-pegasus/
  • support.apple.com/HT207107 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/HT207107
  • support.apple.com/HT207145 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/HT207145

Exploitation evidence

Evidence of exploitation attempts

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploitation Attempts Observed in the Wild

CISA

Recorded 24 May 2022

A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2022-05-24 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/apple_ios/browser/webkit_trident.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

5.5 Medium

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

33.4%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 5.5 Medium

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS v2.0 7.1 High

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts

  1. 15:02 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  2. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  3. 21:00 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  4. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2016-4655

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2016-4655",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 5.5,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.33353,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}