SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2012-3637

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-07-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
WebKit, as used in Apple Safari before 6.0, 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-2012-07-25-1.

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 confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in WebKit rendering engine affecting Safari browsers prior to version 6.0. Remote attackers can achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service through specially crafted webpages exploiting memory corruption during page rendering.

MitigationUpgrade Safari to version 6.0 or later to obtain the patched WebKit component. Avoid browsing untrusted websites until the update is applied.

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
Affected:<= 5.1.7= 1.0= 1.0.0= 1.0.0b1= 1.0.0b2= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0b1= 1.1= 1.1.0= 1.1.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Safari version
    On macOS: Open Safari, go to Safari menu > About Safari. On Windows: Open Help > About Safari. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The version displayed is 5.1.7 or lower, or matches one of these: 1.0, 1.0.0, 1.0.0b1, 1.0.0b2, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0b1, 1.1, 1.1.0, 1.1.1
  2. Verify Safari is actively used
    Confirm that Safari browser is installed and has been used to browse the web. The vulnerability is triggered when rendering specially crafted webpages.
    Affected if Safari is installed and was used to visit untrusted websites prior to upgrading to Safari 6.0 or later
  3. Check WebKit component version (optional)
    On macOS, the WebKit version can be found in Safari's developer tools or by checking the system library version. Alternatively, check if Safari is using a WebKit build that predates the 2012 security update.
    Affected if The WebKit component bundled with Safari is from a build prior to the July 2012 security update that addressed CVE-2012-3637

You are affected if Safari version 5.1.7 or lower, or any of the specific older versions (1.0 through 1.1.1) is installed and was used to browse webpages.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.1.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Safari to version 6.0 or later to obtain the patched WebKit component. Avoid browsing untrusted websites until the update is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 6.0 or later

  1. Check current Safari version via Safari > About Safari (or Settings > Safari > General on newer macOS)
  2. If running Safari 5.1.7 or earlier, upgrade to Safari 6.0 or later
  3. On macOS, use Apple menu > Software Update to obtain Safari 6.0, or download from.apple.com/safari/
  4. After upgrade, verify the fix by checking Safari version shows 6.0 or higher
Caveat Safari 6.0 requires OS X Lion (10.7) or later; older macOS versions cannot upgrade to this version and may require additional mitigations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-3637 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-3637 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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