dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2007-4812

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-09-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Buffer overflow in Apple Safari 3.0.3 522.15.5, and other versions before Beta Update 3.0.4, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly have other unspecified impact by setting document.location.hash to a long string. NOTE: the crash might actually occur in the alert method.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Apple Safari versions before 3.0.4 Beta Update. Attackers can trigger a denial of service (browser crash) and potentially achieve unspecified impact by setting document.location.hash to an excessively long string, with the crash potentially occurring when the alert method is invoked.

MitigationUpdate Safari to version 3.0.4 Beta Update or later to patch this vulnerability. Users should also exercise caution when visiting untrusted websites that might attempt to exploit this client-side vulnerability.

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:= 3.0.3

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
Partial

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

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 if Apple Safari is installed
    Look for Safari application - on macOS check /Applications/Safari.app or on Windows check Program Files/Safari. You can also run 'safari --version' command line or check the browser's About dialog.
    Affected if Safari is not installed or no version can be determined, this CVE does not apply.
  2. Determine installed Safari version
    On macOS, right-click Safari in Applications, select Get Info, and note the version number. On Windows, open Help > About Safari. Alternatively, enter 'JavaScript:alert(navigator.userAgent)' in the address bar to see the user agent string containing the version.
    Affected if Version is 3.0.3 exactly - this version is explicitly listed as affected.
  3. Check if the version falls within the vulnerable range
    Compare your installed version to the affected range. The CVE states versions before 3.0.4 Beta Update are vulnerable, and version 3.0.3 is specifically affected. Any version prior to 3.0.4 Beta Update (including 3.0.3, 3.0.2, 3.0.1, etc.) is in the vulnerable range.
    Affected if Version is 3.0.3 or any version earlier than 3.0.4 Beta Update.
  4. Test for the specific trigger condition (optional confirmatory check)
    In Safari's address bar, you could theoretically test the vector by executing JavaScript that sets a long string to document.location.hash and then calls alert(), though this is not recommended as it may crash the browser. A safer approach is simply verifying the version without triggering the exploit.
    Affected if If running Safari 3.0.3, the vulnerability condition is present - the buffer overflow can be triggered by setting document.location.hash to an excessively long string followed by calling alert().

User is affected if Safari version is 3.0.3 or any version earlier than 3.0.4 Beta Update, and the browser is used with JavaScript enabled to process document.location.hash with the alert method.

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

Update Safari to version 3.0.4 Beta Update or later to patch this vulnerability. Users should also exercise caution when visiting untrusted websites that might attempt to exploit this client-side vulnerability.

Fix this in Safari 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-2007-4812 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
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