CVE-2012-3659
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 used by Apple iTunes before version 10.7. Remote attackers could exploit this by tricking users into visiting crafted malicious web sites, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service through 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 is installedCheck for iTunes installation by looking for the executable. On Windows, check C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes\iTunes.exe. On macOS, check /Applications/iTunes.appAffected if iTunes is not installed on the system
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Determine installed iTunes versionOpen iTunes and go to Help > About iTunes, or right-click the iTunes icon and select About iTunes. The version number will be displayed (for example: 10.6.3, 10.7, 4.7.1)Affected if The version displayed is 10.6.3 or lower, or one of: 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.2.0, 4.5, 4.5.0, 4.6, 4.6.0, 4.7, 4.7.0, 4.7.1
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Confirm WebKit usage contextDetermine if iTunes is used to browse web content such as the iTunes Store, web links within iTunes, or third-party content that may render HTML. Open iTunes and check if you can access the iTunes Store or if web content is displayedAffected if iTunes is used to browse web content and the version is in the affected list
You are affected if iTunes is installed with a version matching 10.6.3 or lower, or versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.1, and you use iTunes to browse or display web content.
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 obtain the WebKit security patch. Organizations should ensure endpoint protection and may consider blocking known malicious sites at the network level as a defense-in-depth measure.
- 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-2012-3659 — 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-2012-3659 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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