CVE-2006-4887
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 · uneditedApple Remote Desktop (ARD) for Mac OS X 10.2.8 and later does not drop privileges on the remote machine while installing certain applications, which allows local users to bypass authentication and gain privileges by selecting the icon during installation. NOTE: it could be argued that the issue is not in Remote Desktop itself, but in applications that are installed while using it.
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 confidenceApple Remote Desktop fails to drop privileges properly on the remote machine during installation of certain applications. This allows local users on the target machine to bypass authentication and gain elevated privileges by interacting with the installation icon during the ARD-initiated installation process.
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= 2.0.0= 2.1.0= 3.0.0<= 10.2.8CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Apple Remote Desktop is installedLocate the ARD application on the system - typically found in /Applications/Utilities/ or check system preferences for Remote Desktop client/admin settingsAffected if Apple Remote Desktop application is present on the system
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Check the installed version of Apple Remote DesktopUse the system to query the installed version of Apple Remote Desktop (via System Preferences, Finder Get Info, or command-line package tools if available)Affected if Version is 2.0.0, 2.1.0, or 3.0.0 specifically
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Determine the Mac OS X versionCheck system version via About This Mac or command: sw_vers or uname -aAffected if Mac OS X version is 10.2.8 or earlier
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Check if ARD remote installation feature is active or configuredReview ARD client/admin settings to determine if remote installation capabilities are enabled, and inspect for any ongoing or recent ARD-initiated installation processesAffected if ARD remote installation feature is enabled or has been recently used on this machine as a target
User is affected if running Apple Remote Desktop versions 2.0.0, 2.1.0, or 3.0.0 on Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier, and the remote installation feature has been used or is available on the target machine.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataEnsure applications installed via ARD properly handle privilege dropping, and review ARD installation configurations to minimize local user interaction opportunities during remote installations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-4887 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2006-4887 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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