dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2011-3438

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
WebKit, as used in Safari 5.0.6, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (process crash) or arbitrary code execution.

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 confidence

A vulnerability in WebKit (the browser rendering engine) used by Safari 5.0.6 allows remote attackers to trigger a denial of service via process crash or achieve arbitrary code execution, likely through a maliciously crafted web page causing memory corruption.

MitigationUpdate Safari to a version newer than 5.0.6 that includes the patched WebKit component, or apply any available security updates from Apple for WebKit/Safari.

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:= 5.0.6

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:3.0/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 Safari is installed
    Check for Safari application in /Applications (macOS) or C:\Program Files\Safari or C:\Program Files (x86)\Safari (Windows)
    Affected if Safari browser exists on the system
  2. Determine installed Safari version
    On macOS: Open Safari, select Safari menu > About Safari. On Windows: Open Safari, select Help > About Safari. Alternatively, use command line: 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' (macOS) or check registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Apple\Safari' (Windows)
    Affected if Version displayed is 5.0.6
  3. Verify WebKit is the active rendering engine
    Safari uses WebKit by default. No additional configuration check needed - WebKit is built into Safari and cannot be disabled in normal usage
    Affected if Safari is using default WebKit rendering engine (default behavior)
  4. Confirm the system is networked and browser is functional
    Ensure the system has network connectivity and Safari can render web pages. The vulnerability is triggered by visiting a malicious web page
    Affected if System can browse the internet and Safari renders web content

If Safari version is exactly 5.0.6, the system is affected because the specific WebKit component in this version contains the memory corruption flaw that can be exploited via malicious web pages.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Safari to a version newer than 5.0.6 that includes the patched WebKit component, or apply any available security updates from Apple for WebKit/Safari.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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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-2011-3438 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