CVE-2011-2811
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 · uneditedWebKit, as used in Apple iTunes before 10.5, allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via vectors related to iTunes Store browsing, a different vulnerability than other CVEs listed in APPLE-SA-2011-10-11-1.
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 confidenceA man-in-the-middle vulnerability in WebKit (used by Apple iTunes before version 10.5) allows remote attackers to cause memory corruption during iTunes Store browsing, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service via application crash.
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<= 10.4.1= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.1.0= 4.2.0= 4.5.0= 4.6.0= 4.7.0= 4.7.1= 4.7.2= 4.8.0= 4.9.0all 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:H/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.
-
Check installed iTunes versionOpen iTunes, then go to Help > About iTunes to view the version number. Alternatively, on Windows check Add/Remove Programs or the iTunes installation directory for the version info. On Mac, check /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Info.plist or the iTunes.app bundle.Affected if The version displayed is 10.4.1 or earlier, or exactly matches one of these: 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.1.0, 4.2.0, 4.5.0, 4.6.0, 4.7.0, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8.0, or 4.9.0
-
Confirm iTunes Store browsing is enabledLaunch iTunes and verify the iTunes Store feature is accessible by clicking the Store icon in the source list or navigating to the Store menu. Check that network connectivity to Apple's servers is allowed.Affected if The iTunes Store feature is accessible and the machine can reach Apple's servers, because the vulnerable WebKit component is invoked when browsing the iTunes Store
-
Verify WebKit usage in iTunesInspect iTunes network traffic when browsing the iTunes Store using a packet capture tool. The vulnerability exists in the embedded WebKit rendering engine that iTunes uses to display Store content.Affected if Network traffic shows iTunes connecting to Apple servers for Store content and rendering web-based Store pages, which invokes the vulnerable WebKit component
You are affected if your iTunes version is 10.4.1 or earlier (or matches one of the specific 4.x versions listed) AND you use the iTunes Store browsing feature, because the embedded WebKit component contains the MITM vulnerability that triggers during Store browsing.
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 or later to obtain the patched WebKit component. For enterprises, deploy the update via software distribution channels and verify completion across affected endpoints.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2811 — 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-2011-2811 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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