SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2009-2421
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 · uneditedThe CFCharacterSetInitInlineBuffer method in CoreFoundation.dll in Apple Safari 3.2.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a "high-bit character" in a URL fragment for an unspecified protocol.
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 NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in Safari 3.2.3's CoreFoundation.dll allows remote attackers to crash the browser or potentially execute arbitrary code by supplying a high-bit character in a URL fragment for an unspecified protocol.
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
= 3.2.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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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Check installed Safari versionOpen Safari, go to Safari > About Safari (or press Cmd+,) to view the version number, or check the application file info in /Applications/Safari.appAffected if The version displayed is exactly 3.2.3
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Verify CoreFoundation.dll presenceOn Windows, check for the presence of CoreFoundation.dll in the Safari installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Safari\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Safari\); on macOS, this framework exists as /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.frameworkAffected if CoreFoundation framework/dll exists in the Safari installation
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Confirm Windows platformThe vulnerability specifically mentions CoreFoundation.dll which is the Windows DLL version of the framework; check if running Safari on WindowsAffected if Safari 3.2.3 is running on Windows with the vulnerable DLL
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Verify URL handling exposureThe vulnerability triggers via a URL fragment with a high-bit character for an unspecified protocol; confirm the browser handles external URLsAffected if Safari 3.2.3 is used for web browsing and can process URL fragments
You are affected ONLY if Safari version is exactly 3.2.3 and you use the browser to navigate to web pages containing maliciously crafted URL fragments with high-bit characters.
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 Safari to a modern version that includes patches for this vulnerability; as this affects Safari 3.2.3 from 2009, current browser versions do not contain this flaw.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2009-2421 — 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-2009-2421 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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