CVE-2008-1028
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in AppKit in Apple Mac OS X before 10.5 allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted document file, as demonstrated by opening the document with TextEdit.
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 · high confidenceVulnerability in AppKit (macOS UI framework) allows arbitrary code execution or DoS via malicious document file opened in TextEdit. User-assisted attack requires victim to open crafted file. Root cause is unspecified memory corruption in document parsing.
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= 10.4.11= 10.4.11CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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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Check Mac OS X version installedOpen Terminal and run 'sw_vers' or go to Apple Menu > About This Mac to view the OS versionAffected if Version is exactly 10.4.11 (Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server)
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Confirm precise build versionRun 'uname -a' in Terminal to display kernel and build informationAffected if Build shows Mac OS X 10.4.11 (specifically the 9F33 build or similar 10.4.11 release build)
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Verify TextEdit application presenceCheck for /Applications/TextEdit.app or locate TextEdit in the Applications folderAffected if TextEdit is available on the system (the attack vector uses TextEdit to open malicious documents)
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Determine if untrusted documents are openedReview user behavior or system logs for opened .rtf, .rtfd, or plain text files from untrusted sourcesAffected if Users open document files from untrusted or unknown sources in TextEdit
System is affected only if running exactly Mac OS X 10.4.11 (client or Server) AND users open malicious crafted documents in TextEdit, as the vulnerability requires user-assisted opening of a specially crafted file.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 or later; avoid opening untrusted document files until patched.
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later
- Upgrade the system to Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later to resolve the AppKit vulnerability
- After upgrading, verify the system is running the updated version
- Ensure TextEdit or other applications that open document files are updated as part of the OS upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-1028 — 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-2008-1028 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