SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2008-2317
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 · uneditedWebCore in Apple Safari does not properly perform garbage collection of JavaScript document elements, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap corruption and application crash) via a reference to the ownerNode property of a copied CSSStyleSheet object of a STYLE element, as originally demonstrated on Apple iPhone before 2.0 and iPod touch before 2.0, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-1590.
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 confidenceWebCore in Apple Safari fails to properly perform garbage collection of JavaScript document elements. By referencing the ownerNode property of a copied CSSStyleSheet object from a STYLE element, attackers can trigger heap corruption, leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.
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
all versionsCVSS 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 if Safari is installedOn macOS: Look for Safari in /Applications or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i safari'. On iOS: Check Settings > Safari (if Safari app exists).Affected if Safari is found on the system
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Determine the installed Safari versionOn macOS: Run 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' or right-click Safari in Applications > Get Info > Version. On iOS: Go to Settings > General > About > Version.Affected if A version number is returned
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Compare version against fixed releaseCompare the installed version to 3.1.2 (the fixed version for macOS Safari) or 2.0 (the fixed version for iOS).Affected if Version is below 3.1.2 on macOS or below 2.0 on iOS, indicating the unpatched vulnerable version is installed
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Verify JavaScript is enabled (exploitation requirement)In Safari: Go to Preferences > Security and check 'Enable JavaScript'. The vulnerability exploits JavaScript document handling, so JavaScript must be enabled for the flaw to be triggerable.Affected if JavaScript is enabled in Safari settings
If Safari is installed and the version is below 3.1.2 (or below 2.0 on iOS), the environment contains the vulnerable WebCore component and is affected by CVE-2008-2317.
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 dataUpgrade to Safari 3.1.2 or later / iOS 2.0 or later, which contain the fix for this garbage collection vulnerability in WebCore.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2317 — 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-2008-2317 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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- 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
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