CVE-2016-1734

Vulnerability

CVE-2016-1734 is a memory corruption vulnerability in AppleUSBNetworking, a component that handles USB networking on Apple platforms. The flaw resides in packet validation due to an error handling issue [1][2]. Affected versions include Apple iOS before 9.3 and OS X before 10.11.4 [1][2]. No special configuration is required; the vulnerable code path is reachable whenever the system processes network packets from a USB device.

Exploitation

An attacker must be physically proximate to the target device and connect a specially crafted USB device. The attacker does not need prior authentication, as USB device connection does not require user credentials. The crafted USB device delivers malicious network packets that exploit the packet validation flaw, causing memory corruption [1][2]. No user interaction is required beyond plugging in the device.

Impact

Successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution in a privileged context (kernel-level on OS X or system-level on iOS) or a denial of service due to memory corruption [1][2]. An attacker can achieve full control of the affected device, potentially bypassing security restrictions.

Mitigation

Apple addressed the vulnerability in iOS 9.3 and OS X El Capitan v10.11.4, released in March 2016 [1][2]. No workarounds are documented; users should update to the fixed versions. There is no indication that this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.