CVE-2011-3458
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 · uneditedQuickTime in Apple Mac OS X before 10.7.3 does not prevent access to uninitialized memory locations, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted MP4 file.
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 confidenceQuickTime in Mac OS X before 10.7.3 contains a memory corruption vulnerability where access to uninitialized memory locations is not prevented. When processing a specially crafted MP4 file, this can allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a 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<= 10.7.2= 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/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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Determine Mac OS X versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version is 10.7.0, 10.7.1, or 10.7.2 (any version <= 10.7.2) and QuickTime is present
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Verify QuickTime component is installedCheck for presence of /System/Library/QuickTime/QuickTime.component or run: defaults read /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/Info.plist CFBundleIdentifier 2>/dev/nullAffected if QuickTime framework component exists on the system
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Confirm QuickTime versionRun: /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework/Versions/Current/QuickTimeVersioner 2>/dev/null || mdls -name kMDItemVersion /System/Library/QuickTime/QuickTime.component 2>/dev/nullAffected if QuickTime version corresponds to Mac OS X 10.7.2 or earlier (version numbering tied to OS release)
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Check for MP4 file handling capabilityRun: mdimport -r /System/Library/QuickTime/ 2>/dev/null; confirm MP4 importer exists at /System/Library/QuickTime/QuickTimeMPEG4.componentAffected if QuickTime MP4 import component is loaded and available for processing MP4 files
The system is affected if Mac OS X version is 10.7.2 or earlier AND QuickTime with MP4 playback capability is installed and enabled on the machine.
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 dataApply Apple security update Mac OS X 10.7.3 or later which patches QuickTime. Alternatively, remove or disable QuickTime playback components if not required in the environment.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2011-3458 — 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-2011-3458 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data