CVE-2011-2831
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in WebKit (used in Apple iTunes before 10.5) that allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via vectors related to iTunes Store browsing. The flaw enables remote code execution through memory corruption when users browse the iTunes Store over compromised network connections.
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.
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Check iTunes version on WindowsOpen iTunes and go to Help > About iTunes, or check the version in Programs and Features, or inspect the file properties of iTunes.exe in the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\iTunes\)Affected if The installed version is 10.4.1 or lower, or matches any 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
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Verify iTunes Store browsing usageConfirm whether the iTunes application is used to browse the iTunes Store (the Store button in the iTunes interface) or whether music/device sync only is performedAffected if The user actively browses the iTunes Store within iTunes, as the vulnerability triggers only when rendering Store content via the embedded WebKit component
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Inspect network exposureCheck whether the machine runs on shared or untrusted networks (public WiFi, corporate networks with other untrusted devices) while using iTunes StoreAffected if iTunes Store browsing occurs over a network where a man-in-the-middle attacker could intercept SSL/TLS traffic, as the exploit requires MITM positioning
You are affected if your iTunes version is 10.4.1 or lower (or one of the listed 4.x versions) AND you browse the iTunes Store, particularly on networks where a man-in-the-middle attack is possible.
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 Apple iTunes to version 10.5 or later, which contains the patched WebKit component. Until updated, avoid browsing the iTunes Store on untrusted networks or use network segmentation to reduce MITM exposure.
- Consultation1.0 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-2011-2831 — 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-2011-2831 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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