SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2012-0636
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 10.6, 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-2012-03-07-1.
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 · moderate confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability in WebKit, the rendering engine used by Apple iTunes prior to version 10.6, allows remote man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via vectors related to iTunes Store browsing.
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
<= 5.1.4<= 10.5.3= 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, then go to Help > About iTunes. Alternatively, locate iTunes in Program Files and check the file properties of iTunes.exe or check the version via command: wmic datafile where "name='C:\\Program Files\\iTunes\\iTunes.exe'" get VersionAffected if The version displayed is 10.5.3 or earlier, or matches any of these specific versions: 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, 4.9.0
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Check Safari version on macOS or WindowsOn macOS, open Safari and go to Safari > About Safari. On Windows, open Safari and go to Help > About SafariAffected if The version is 5.1.4 or earlier
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Identify WebKit-based applications in useCheck installed applications for any that use WebKit as their rendering engine (common ones include Safari, older versions of Chrome, iTunes on Windows). On Windows, review Program Files for WebKit-named components or check iTunes installation directory for WebKit DLLsAffected if Any WebKit-based application is in use and its specific version is unknown or falls within affected ranges (especially Safari <= 5.1.4 or iTunes <= 10.5.3)
If iTunes version is 10.5.3 or earlier (including the specific 4.x versions listed), or Safari version is 5.1.4 or earlier, the environment is vulnerable to remote code execution via the WebKit memory corruption flaw when browsing the iTunes Store.
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 10.6 or later to patch the vulnerable WebKit component; in enterprise environments, verify no legacy vulnerable versions remain deployed.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0636 — 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-2012-0636 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
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