CVE-2016-1861

HIGH

macOS < 10.11.5 - Remote Code Execution in NVIDIA Graphics Drivers

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2016-1861. PoCs published by Google Security Research.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit targets a kernel stack buffer overflow in the NVIDIA GeForce GPU driver (nvAPIClient::Escape) on macOS. It leverages insufficient bounds checking in the ::SetClocksShmoo method to overflow a stack buffer, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

Description

The NVIDIA Graphics Drivers subsystem in Apple OS X before 10.11.5 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted app, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1846.

Exploits (1)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Google Security Research · cdososx
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39930

This exploit targets a kernel stack buffer overflow in the NVIDIA GeForce GPU driver (nvAPIClient::Escape) on macOS. It leverages insufficient bounds checking in the ::SetClocksShmoo method to overflow a stack buffer, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: NVIDIA GeForce GPU driver on macOS (tested on 10.11.3)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: MacBookPro with NVIDIA GPU · macOS 10.11.3 or vulnerable version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (4)

Core 4
Core References
Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://support.apple.com/HT206567
Vendor Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_apple
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/May/msg00004.html
Exploit, Third Party Advisory exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39930/

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0302
EPSS Percentile 87.0%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-119
Status published
Products (1)
apple/mac_os_x < 10.11.4
Published Jun 19, 2016
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026