CVE-2012-3648
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 10.7, 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-2012-09-12-1.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in WebKit rendering engine, as embedded in Apple iTunes versions prior to 10.7. Exploitation occurs through a maliciously crafted website, allowing remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause a denial of service via memory corruption and application crash.
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<= 10.6.3= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.1.0= 4.2.0= 4.5= 4.5.0= 4.6= 4.6.0= 4.7= 4.7.0= 4.7.1CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 installationCheck if Apple iTunes is installed on the system by looking for the iTunes executable (iTunes.exe) in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\iTunes\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\, or query the installed programs via Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{AppID}Affected if iTunes is not found on the system, the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability in iTunes.
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Retrieve installed iTunes versionOpen iTunes and navigate to Help > About iTunes, or check the version property of the iTunes.exe file by right-clicking the executable, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab. Alternatively, query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Apple Computer, Inc.\iTunes\ for the Version value.Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or is older than 10.7.
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare the detected version number to the affected list: versions <= 10.6.3, or exactly 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.1.0, 4.2.0, 4.5, 4.5.0, 4.6, 4.6.0, 4.7, 4.7.0, or 4.7.1Affected if The installed version matches any of these exact versions or is less than or equal to 10.6.3.
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Identify WebKit usage contextThis vulnerability in the embedded WebKit component is triggered when iTunes processes web content, such as when accessing the iTunes Store, displaying album artwork from web sources, or following web links within iTunes.Affected if The system is potentially vulnerable when iTunes is used to browse or display web content from untrusted sources, in addition to meeting the version condition above.
The environment is affected if Apple iTunes is installed with a version matching <= 10.6.3 or any of the specific 4.x versions listed, and the user accesses malicious web content through iTunes.
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 10.7 or later to patch the vulnerable WebKit component. As a general precaution, avoid browsing untrusted websites while iTunes is running.
- 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-2012-3648 — 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-2012-3648 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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