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SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2008-2540

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-06-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Apple Safari on Mac OS X, and before 3.1.2 on Windows, does not prompt the user before downloading an object that has an unrecognized content type, which allows remote attackers to place malware into the (1) Desktop directory on Windows or (2) Downloads directory on Mac OS X, and subsequently allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on Windows by leveraging an untrusted search path vulnerability in (a) Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP or (b) the SearchPath function in Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003 and 2008, aka a "Carpet Bomb" and a "Blended Threat Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different issue than CVE-2008-1032. NOTE: Apple considers this a vulnerability only because the Microsoft products can load application libraries from the desktop and, as of 20080619, has not covered the issue in an advisory for Mac OS X.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-264

A legacy NVD category covering weaknesses where permissions or privileges are assigned, checked, or dropped incorrectly, so an action ends up running with more access than it should. It is an umbrella label from older records, not a single flaw. The remedy depends on the specific case, but the throughline is least privilege with explicit, checked transitions wherever privilege changes.

General guidance for the permissions, privileges & access controls class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:< 3.1.2

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.1.2 or later
Fixed in 3.1.2
Vendor patch www.microsoft.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 3.1.2 or later (preferably latest available version)

  1. Check current Safari version by opening Safari and navigating to Safari > About Safari (Mac) or Help > About Safari (Windows)
  2. Download Safari 3.1.2 or later from the official Apple website (www.apple.com/safari)
  3. Install the Safari update by running the downloaded installer
  4. Restart Safari if prompted or close and reopen the application
  5. Verify the fix by confirming Safari is now version 3.1.2 or higher
Caveat Minimal risk; upgrading to a newer Safari version may introduce minor UI changes but is generally safe

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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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-2008-2540 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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