# CVE-2016-1851: Auth bypass in n/a

> Physically proximate attackers can bypass the macOS Screen Lock to reset expired passwords and gain unauthorized access to the system.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 May 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hh9j-m7rp-7rxr

## What is CVE-2016-1851?

CVE-2016-1851 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 20 May 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Screen Lock feature in Apple OS X before 10.11.5 mishandles password profiles, which allows physically proximate attackers to reset expired passwords in the lock-screen state via unspecified vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1851?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apple Mac Os X.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1851?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-1851 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-1851 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1851 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Mac Os X

- [CVE-2014-7169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-7169/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-6271](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-6271/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2012-1823](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1823/): PHP-CGI Query String Parameter (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30713](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30713/): Apple macOS Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-8526](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-8526/): Apple macOS Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-1851 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1851 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 20 May 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1851 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Mac Os X. 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-2016-1851/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1851/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1851
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1851
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1851

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1851/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.