CVE-2012-0638
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 · high confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability in WebKit as embedded in Apple iTunes versions prior to 10.6 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause a denial of service by intercepting and manipulating traffic during iTunes Store browsing sessions.
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<= 10.5.3= 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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Verify iTunes is installedCheck for iTunes executable location - typical paths: Windows: C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe; Mac: /Applications/iTunes.appAffected if iTunes is not present on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
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Determine installed iTunes versionWindows: Right-click iTunes.exe > Properties > Details tab > Product Version field, or run 'iTunes.exe /?' or check Add/Remove Programs. Mac: Right-click iTunes.app > Get Info > Version fieldAffected if Unable to determine version - manual verification needed
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Compare version against affected rangesCheck if version is 10.5.3 or lower, OR matches any of these: 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, 4.9.0Affected if Version falls within the affected list - system is potentially vulnerable to the WebKit memory corruption flaw
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Identify if iTunes Store browsing is usedThe vulnerability is triggered specifically during iTunes Store browsing sessions where network traffic could be intercepted. Check if users browse the iTunes StoreAffected if iTunes is installed in an affected version AND the iTunes Store feature is used or accessible - the MITM attack vector becomes viable
User is affected if iTunes is installed with a version equal to or below 10.5.3, or matching any of the specific 4.x versions listed, and the iTunes Store browsing feature is accessible on the system.
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.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0638 — 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-2012-0638 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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