CVE-2008-3434
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 iTunes before 10.5.1 does not properly verify the authenticity of updates, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code via a Trojan horse update, as demonstrated by evilgrade and DNS cache poisoning.
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 confidenceApple iTunes versions prior to 10.5.1 lack proper cryptographic verification of update authenticity, allowing man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept and inject malicious update packages. This enables arbitrary code execution through Trojan horse updates, as demonstrated using evilgrade and DNS cache poisoning techniques.
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<= 6.0.5= 1.0= 1.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 3.0= 3.0.1CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify iTunes is installedCheck for iTunes installation: On Windows, look in Program Files or check registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{iTunes Product ID} for InstallLocation. On macOS, check /Applications for iTunes.app.Affected if iTunes is installed and the version matches any in the affected list
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Retrieve installed iTunes version numberOn Windows: Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, find iTunes in the list and note the version. Or run: wmic product where "name like 'iTunes'" get version. On macOS: Right-click iTunes in Applications > Get Info, or run: defaults read /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString.Affected if The installed version is any of: 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 3.0, 3.0.1, or 6.0.5 or earlier
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Confirm version is in affected rangeCompare your retrieved version number against the list: 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 3.0, 3.0.1, and any version <= 6.0.5.Affected if The version is present in this list, indicating the update authentication flaw is present
You are affected if iTunes version 6.0.5 or earlier, or exactly one of versions 1.0 through 3.0.1, is installed and the automatic update feature is enabled (which is the default state).
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 dataUpdate iTunes to version 10.5.1 or later, which implements proper update authenticity verification. Until then, avoid untrusted networks and consider network segmentation to reduce MITM attack vectors.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-3434 — 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-2008-3434 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