dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2005-3897

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-11-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Apple Safari 2.0.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (system slowdown) via a Javascript BODY onload event that calls the window function.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Apple Safari 2.0.2 contains a client-side denial of service vulnerability where a JavaScript BODY onload event handler that repeatedly calls a window function causes system slowdown or unresponsiveness.

MitigationFor legacy systems still running Safari 2.0.2, upgrade to a supported browser version or disable JavaScript execution as a workaround.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SafariWeb browser
Affected:= 2.0.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Safari is installed
    Check for Safari browser on the system - look for Safari.app in /Applications folder on Mac, or search for Safari executable on the system
    Affected if Safari browser is present on the system
  2. Identify Safari version number
    Open Safari, then go to Safari > About Safari (Mac) or help menu to display the version, or use Terminal command: /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari -version
    Affected if Version displayed is exactly 2.0.2
  3. Verify exact version match
    Compare the found version against the affected range: Apple Safari version 2.0.2
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.2 (not 2.0.1, 2.0.3, or other versions)
  4. Check if JavaScript is enabled
    In Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Security and verify if 'Enable JavaScript' checkbox is checked
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled in Safari settings

You are affected only if Safari version 2.0.2 is installed AND JavaScript execution is enabled, as the vulnerability requires the browser to process malicious JavaScript in an onload event handler.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

For legacy systems still running Safari 2.0.2, upgrade to a supported browser version or disable JavaScript execution as a workaround.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-3897 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data