dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2010-0048

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2010-03-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.0.4 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit in Apple Safari before 4.0.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted XML document.

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 confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit in Apple Safari versions prior to 4.0.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via a crafted XML document.

MitigationUpgrade Apple Safari to version 4.0.5 or later to patch the vulnerability.

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
Affected:<= 4.0.4= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Apple Safari is installed
    On macOS, check /Applications/ for Safari.app or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i safari'. On Windows, check Program Files folders or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell for registry entries.
    Affected if Safari is not found on the system, the user is not affected by this CVE.
  2. Determine installed Safari version
    On macOS, right-click Safari.app > Get Info or run 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion'. On Windows, check 'Help' > 'About Safari' or examine the executable version properties.
    Affected if The installed version is one of: 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, or any version lower than 4.0.5.
  3. Verify WebKit component presence
    Safari uses the WebKit rendering engine. Check that WebKit framework files exist in the Safari application bundle (WebKit.framework inside Safari.app/Contents/Frameworks).
    Affected if The WebKit component is missing or disabled, the specific attack vector via crafted XML documents may not be reachable.
  4. Confirm XML document handling is accessible
    The vulnerability is triggered by crafted XML documents. Verify that Safari's XML parsing functionality is available by attempting to load an XML file or checking Safari's internal settings for XML support.
    Affected if XML document handling is intentionally disabled or restricted at the system level, exploitation through this vector would be blocked.
  5. Check for recent Safari usage indicating exposure risk
    Review browser history or recent documents for visits to untrusted sites that could serve malicious XML content, or check system logs for Safari crash events related to XML parsing.
    Affected if The browser has been used to process untrusted XML content from the web, creating potential for exploitation.

A user is affected if Apple Safari version 4.0 through 4.0.4 is installed and the WebKit XML parsing component is accessible for handling crafted documents.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.0.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apple Safari to version 4.0.5 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

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

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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-2010-0048 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data