CVE-2012-0591
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 iOS before 5.1 and iTunes before 10.6, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted web site, a different vulnerability than other WebKit CVEs listed in APPLE-SA-2012-03-07-1 and APPLE-SA-2012-03-07-2.
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 by iOS and iTunes) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via malicious web pages. The vulnerability exists in the WebKit rendering engine before Apple's March 2012 security updates.
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< 5.1< 10.6CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 iOS version on Apple mobile devicesGo to Settings > General > About on iPhone/iPad and look at the Version field, or use iTunes to check the device firmware versionAffected if Version is below 5.1 (e.g., 5.0.x or earlier)
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Check iTunes version on Windows or MacOpen iTunes and go to Help > About iTunes, or check the program's version properties in the file systemAffected if Version is below 10.6 (e.g., 10.5.x or earlier)
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Identify WebKit-based applications in useOn the device or computer, list installed browsers and applications that render web content (Safari, third-party browsers, embedded WebView components)Affected if Any WebKit-based browser or app is present on an affected iOS/iTunes version
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Determine if Safari or web browsing is enabledCheck if Safari (iOS) or iTunes Store browsing feature is accessible on the device/computerAffected if Web browsing capability exists on an unpatched version of iOS or iTunes
A user is affected if they are running iOS versions prior to 5.1 or iTunes versions prior to 10.6, and they use WebKit-based applications or browse the web on those devices.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.110.6
Update affected devices and software to iOS 5.1 or later and iTunes 10.6 or later. Apply vendor patches immediately as CVSS 9.3 indicates critical severity with remote code execution potential.
iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6
- Upgrade iOS to version 5.1 or later to resolve the WebKit vulnerability
- Upgrade iTunes to version 10.6 or later to resolve the WebKit vulnerability
- Ensure all devices running iOS are updated to the fixed release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0591 — 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-2012-0591 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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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