CVE-2012-0648
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 iTunes) allows remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service via a man-in-the-middle attack while browsing the iTunes Store. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of network responses during 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 in the system (Windows: Program Files or Programs and Features; Mac: /Applications folder or Launchpad)Affected if iTunes is present on the system
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Determine installed iTunes versionOpen iTunes, then go to Help > About iTunes (Windows/Mac), or check the version in Programs and Features (Windows), or run 'system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType | grep iTunes' in Terminal (Mac)Affected 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, or 4.9.0
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Confirm WebKit is in useUnderstand that iTunes uses the WebKit rendering engine for the iTunes Store browsing feature. This is an internal component of iTunes when Store browsing is active.Affected if iTunes is used to browse the iTunes Store (the vulnerability only applies during Store sessions)
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Identify MITM exposureDetermine if the system or network is subject to man-in-the-middle attacks, such as being on untrusted networks (public WiFi) or having TLS interception proxies present.Affected if The system can be intercepted by a MITM attacker while browsing the iTunes Store
A user is affected if iTunes version 10.5.3 or lower (or any 4.x version) is installed and they browse the iTunes Store on a network where a man-in-the-middle attacker could intercept traffic.
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 resolve the WebKit vulnerability. For additional defense-in-depth, ensure TLS inspection/mitm-proxy protections are disabled or properly validated when using iTunes Store, and keep systems updated.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2012-0648 — 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-2012-0648 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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