# CVE-2016-1788: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Remote attackers can read message attachments due to improper cryptographic protection in Apple operating systems.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Mar 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-33c7-37w4-x2xm

## What is CVE-2016-1788?

CVE-2016-1788 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Iphone Os, published on 24 Mar 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Messages in Apple iOS before 9.3, OS X before 10.11.4, and watchOS before 2.2 does not properly implement a cryptographic protection mechanism, which allows remote attackers to read message attachments via vectors related to duplicate messages.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1788?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Apple Iphone Os, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Watchos.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1788?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-1788 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-1788 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1788 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Iphone Os

- [CVE-2021-30666](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30666/): Apple iOS WebKit Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30761](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30761/): Apple iOS WebKit Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30762](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30762/): Apple iOS WebKit Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-4657](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4657/): Apple iOS Webkit Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-7286](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7286/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-1788 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1788 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Iphone Os, published on 24 Mar 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1788 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Iphone Os. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1788/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1788/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1788
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1788
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1788

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1788/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.