SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2009-1042
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 Apple Safari on Mac OS X 10.5.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors triggered by clicking on a link, as demonstrated by Nils during a PWN2OWN competition at CanSecWest 2009.
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 confidenceA remote code execution vulnerability in Apple Safari on Mac OS X 10.5.6 that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors triggered when a user clicks on a malicious link. The exact vulnerability type and technical details were not publicly disclosed at the time of the PWN2OWN demonstration.
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 installed Safari versionOpen Safari, then go to Safari > About Safari. The version number will be displayed in the window that opens.Affected if Any version of Safari is installed (the vulnerability affects all versions)
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Check Mac OS X versionClick the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select About This Mac. The version number is displayed below the Mac OS X name.Affected if The system is running Mac OS X 10.5.6
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Confirm Safari is present and usedLook for Safari in the Applications folder or check if Safari.app exists in /Applications/Affected if Safari is installed on the system
A user is affected if Safari (any version) is installed on a system running Mac OS X 10.5.6, as the vulnerability affects all Safari versions on that specific OS version.
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 · scopedApply available Apple security updates for Safari and Mac OS X 10.5.6, or upgrade to a supported version of Mac OS X and Safari. Users should exercise caution when clicking untrusted links until the system is patched.
Safari 3.2.2 or later (or latest available Safari for your system)
- 1. Check the current Safari version by opening Safari and going to Safari > About Safari
- 2. Download and install the latest version of Safari from Apple's official website (apple.com/safari) or through Software Update on Mac
- 3. For Mac OS X 10.5.6 systems, this may require updating to a newer Mac OS X version first through Apple Menu > Software Update
- 4. After updating, verify the new Safari version is installed and working correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-1042 — 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-2009-1042 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