CVE-2011-3446
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 · uneditedApple Type Services (ATS) in Apple Mac OS X before 10.7.3 does not properly manage memory for data-font files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted font that is accessed by Font Book.
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 management vulnerability in Apple Type Services (ATS) when handling data-font files. When a user opens a crafted malicious font via Font Book, the improper memory handling allows remote attackers to either execute arbitrary code or crash the application. The vulnerability exists in Mac OS X versions prior to 10.7.3.
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<= 10.7.2= 10.7.0= 10.7.1<= 10.7.2= 10.7.0= 10.7.1CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 Mac OS X versionClick Apple menu > About This Mac to view the OS version numberAffected if Version shows 10.7.2 or earlier (10.7.0, 10.7.1, or 10.7.2)
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Verify Font Book application presenceCheck /Applications/Font Book.app exists or search for Font Book in FinderAffected if Font Book is installed and accessible on the system
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Confirm Apple Type Services versionUse Terminal command: sw_vers -buildVersion to see build, or check /System/Library/Frameworks/ATS.framework for version infoAffected if Running build version corresponding to Mac OS X 10.7.2 or earlier (such as 11C74, 11C75, 11C80, 11G56)
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Check if untrusted fonts can be openedAttempt to open any .fontd or data-font file using Font Book applicationAffected if Font Book successfully processes font files, indicating ATS is active and potentially exploitable
System is affected if running Mac OS X 10.7.2 or earlier and Font Book can be used to open font files, since the memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Type Services would be triggered.
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 affected Mac systems to Mac OS X 10.7.3 or later to obtain the patched Apple Type Services. Until patched, avoid opening fonts from untrusted sources in Font Book.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3446 — 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-2011-3446 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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