CVE-2016-9841: Critical severity Apple tvOS vulnerability

Published Dec 7, 2016
·
Updated

An old inffast.c optimization turns out to not be optimal anymore with modern compilers, and furthermore was not compliant with the C standard, for which decrementing a pointer before its allocated memory is undefined.

External References:

https://wiki.mozilla.org/images/0/09/Zlib-report.pdf https://docs.google.com/document/d/10i1KZS5so8xDqH2rplRa2xet0tyTvvJlLbQQmZIUIKE/edit#heading=h.t13tvnx4loq7

Upstream patch:

https://github.com/madler/zlib/commit/9aaec95e82117c1cb0f9624264c3618fc380cecb

CVE assignment:

http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2016/q4/602

Other sources

inffast.c in zlib 1.2.8 might allow context-dependent attackers to have unspecified impact by leveraging improper pointer arithmetic

— Microsoft

zlib. Multiple issues were addressed by updating to version 1.2.11.

Credit

CVE-2016-9840, CVE-2016-9841, CVE-2016-9842, CVE-2016-9843, CVE-2016-9840, CVE-2016-9841, CVE-2016-9842, CVE-2016-9843

Affected Software

75 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/zlib<1.2.9
1.2.9
Apple tvOS<11
11
Apple macOS High Sierra<10.13
10.13
Apple WatchOS<4
4
Apple iOS<11
11
zlib zlib>=1.2.0<1.2.9
openSUSE Leap=42.1
openSUSE Leap=42.2
openSUSE openSUSE=13.2
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Oracle Database Server=18c
Oracle JDK=1.6.0-update161
Oracle JDK=1.7.0-update151
Oracle JDK=1.8.0-update144
Oracle JRE=1.6.0-update161
Oracle JRE=1.7.0-update151
Oracle JRE=1.8.0-update144
Oracle MySQL>=5.5.0<=5.5.61
Oracle MySQL>=5.6.0<=5.6.41
Oracle MySQL>=5.7.0<=5.7.23
Oracle MySQL>=8.0.0<=8.0.12
redhat Satellite=5.8
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=6.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Eus=7.4
redhat Enterprise Linux Eus=7.5
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=6.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=6.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=7.0
Apple iPhone OS<11
Apple iOS and macOS>=10.0.0<10.13.0
Apple tvOS<11.0
Apple WatchOS<4
NetApp Active Iq Unified Manager Windows>=7.3
NetApp Active Iq Unified Manager Vmware Vsphere>=9.5
NetApp Cloud Backup
NetApp E-series Santricity Management Vmware Sra
NetApp E-series Santricity Management Vmware Vasa
NetApp E-series Santricity Management Vmware Vcenter
NetApp E-Series SANtricity OS Controller>=11.0.0<=11.70.1
NetApp E-series Santricity Storage Manager
NetApp E-series Santricity Web Services Web Services Proxy
NetApp OnCommand Balance
NetApp OnCommand Insight
NetApp Oncommand Performance Manager Vmware Vsphere
NetApp Oncommand Shift
NetApp Oncommand Unified Manager Vsphere<=7.1
NetApp Oncommand Unified Manager Windows<=7.1
NetApp Oncommand Unified Manager 7-mode
NetApp OnCommand Workflow Automation
NetApp Snapmanager Oracle
NetApp Snapmanager Sap
NetApp Solidfire
NetApp Steelstore Cloud Integrated Storage
NetApp Storage Replication Adapter For Clustered Data Ontap Vmware Vsphere
NetApp Symantec Netbackup
NetApp Vasa Provider For Clustered Data Ontap>=7.2
NetApp Virtual Storage Console Vmware Vsphere
NetApp Hci Storage Node
Nodejs Node.js>=4.0.0<=4.1.2
Nodejs Node.js>=4.2.0<4.8.2
Nodejs Node.js>=6.0.0<=6.8.1
Nodejs Node.js>=6.9.0<6.10.2
Nodejs Node.js>=7.0.0<7.6.0
F5 BIG-IP=17.5.0, >=17.1.0<=17.1.2
17.5.117.1.3
F5 BIG-IP>=16.1.0<=16.1.6
F5 BIG-IP>=15.1.0<=15.1.10
F5 APM Clients>=7.2.4<=7.2.5.1
7.2.5.2
F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management>=8.2.0<=8.4.0
Microsoft azl3 fltk 1.3.8-1
Patch available
debian/rsync
3.2.3-4+deb11u13.2.3-4+deb11u43.2.7-1+deb12u63.2.7-1+deb12u53.4.1+ds1-5+deb13u43.4.1+ds1-5+deb13u33.4.4+ds1-1
debian/zlib
1:1.2.11.dfsg-2+deb11u21:1.2.13.dfsg-11:1.3.dfsg+really1.3.1-11:1.3.dfsg+really1.3.2-3

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/zlib to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.2.9
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade tvOS to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 11
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade macOS High Sierra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 10.13
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade Apple iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 4
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 11
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 17.5.117.1.3
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 7.2.5.2
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/rsync to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.2.3-4+deb11u1Fixed in 3.2.3-4+deb11u4Fixed in 3.2.7-1+deb12u6Fixed in 3.2.7-1+deb12u5Fixed in 3.4.1+ds1-5+deb13u4Fixed in 3.4.1+ds1-5+deb13u3Fixed in 3.4.4+ds1-1
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/zlib to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1:1.2.11.dfsg-2+deb11u2Fixed in 1:1.2.13.dfsg-1Fixed in 1:1.3.dfsg+really1.3.1-1Fixed in 1:1.3.dfsg+really1.3.2-3
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade zlib to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.2.11

Event History

May 23, 2017
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:56 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:56 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·04:29 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:23 PM
Description
Feb 21, 2025
Advisory Published
via F5·05:10 AM
Data Sourced
via F5·05:10 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Mar 14, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverity
Dec 5, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:50 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Jul 14, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·12:11 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2016-9841?

CVE-2016-9841 has been classified as a moderate severity vulnerability due to its compliance issues with the C standard.

2

How do I fix CVE-2016-9841?

To fix CVE-2016-9841, update to a version of affected software that is compliant, such as zlib 1.2.10 or later.

3

Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9841?

CVE-2016-9841 affects several versions of software including zlib versions prior to 1.2.10 and Apple products running macOS versions up to 10.13.

4

Who is affected by CVE-2016-9841?

Users of Apple iOS, macOS, watchOS, and various Linux distributions with vulnerable zlib versions are affected by CVE-2016-9841.

5

What are the potential implications of CVE-2016-9841?

The implications of CVE-2016-9841 may include instability or unexpected behavior in applications utilizing the vulnerable zlib library.

Company

Resources

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203