dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2006-4398

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-11-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Multiple buffer overflows in the Apple Type Services (ATS) server in Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.4.8 allow local users to execute arbitrary code via crafted service requests.

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

Multiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities exist in the Apple Type Services (ATS) server component of Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.4.8. Local attackers can exploit these buffer overflows via crafted service requests to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply the Apple security update for CVE-2006-4398, or upgrade from the unsupported Mac OS X 10.4.x to a supported macOS version.

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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.4.1= 10.4.2= 10.4.3= 10.4.4= 10.4.5= 10.4.6= 10.4.7= 10.4.8

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/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. Check the installed Mac OS X version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal
    Affected if The version returned is 10.4.1, 10.4.2, 10.4.3, 10.4.4, 10.4.5, 10.4.6, 10.4.7, or 10.4.8 (the system falls within the affected 10.4.x range)
  2. Verify the ATS (Apple Type Services) daemon is running
    Run 'ps aux | grep -i atsd' or 'ps aux | grep -i ats' in Terminal to look for the atsd process
    Affected if The atsd or ats daemon process is present and running on the system
  3. Check if the ATS service is loaded via launchd
    Run 'launchctl list | grep -i ats' or check /Library/LaunchDaemons for com.apple.ATSServer or similar ATS-related plist files
    Affected if The ATS service is configured to run (even if not currently active)

The system is affected if it runs any Mac OS X version from 10.4.1 through 10.4.8 and has the Apple Type Services (ATS) daemon enabled or running.

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

Apply the Apple security update for CVE-2006-4398, or upgrade from the unsupported Mac OS X 10.4.x to a supported macOS version.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2006-4398 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