SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2012-3656
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 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 · high confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in WebKit rendering engine used by Apple Safari versions prior to 6.0 allows remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service via specially crafted web pages.
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
<= 5.1.7= 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= 1.1.1CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Safari version on macOSOpen Safari, then click Safari > About Safari. Alternatively, run this command in Terminal: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionStringAffected if The version shown is less than 6.0 (for example, 5.1.7 or any 1.x version listed in the affected products)
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Determine installed Safari version on WindowsOpen Safari, then click Help > About Safari. The version will display in the dialog boxAffected if The version shown is less than 6.0 (for example, 5.1.7 or any 1.x version listed in the affected products)
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Verify the WebKit component version (optional deeper check)In macOS, run: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info WebKitVersion 2>/dev/null || echo 'Not directly exposed'Affected if The WebKit version bundled with your Safari is known to be prior to the Safari 6.0 WebKit release (this is implicit when Safari version is below 6.0)
You are affected if your installed Safari version is any version prior to 6.0, including 5.1.7 or any of the 1.x branches listed in the affected products.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Apple Safari to version 6.0 or later to obtain the patched WebKit component; organizations should deploy this update through their software distribution mechanisms.
Safari 6.0 or later (shipped with OS X Mountain Lion 10.8)
- Open the App Store application on your Mac
- Click on the Updates tab to check for available updates
- Look for Safari update in the list of available updates
- Click Update next to Safari to install version 6.0 or later
- Alternatively, update your Mac to OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) or later, which includes Safari 6.0 or newer
- After updating, verify your Safari version by going to Safari > About Safari
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-3656 — 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-2012-3656 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data