CVE-2013-1024
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 · uneditedCoreMedia Playback in Apple Mac OS X before 10.8.4 does not properly initialize memory during the processing of text tracks, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted movie file.
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 confidenceA memory initialization vulnerability exists in CoreMedia Playback in Apple Mac OS X versions prior to 10.8.4. When processing text tracks within movie files, the software fails to properly initialize memory buffers, which can be exploited by remote attackers via specially crafted movie files to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.
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<= 10.8.3= 10.7.0= 10.7.1= 10.7.2= 10.7.3= 10.7.4= 10.7.5= 10.8.0= 10.8.1= 10.8.2= 10.7.0= 10.7.1= 10.7.2= 10.7.3= 10.7.4= 10.7.5CVSS 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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Check Mac OS X versionClick the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select 'About This Mac' to view the installed OS version, or run 'sw_vers' in TerminalAffected if The version displayed is 10.8.3 or earlier, or matches any of these: 10.7.0, 10.7.1, 10.7.2, 10.7.3, 10.7.4, 10.7.5, 10.8.0, 10.8.1, 10.8.2
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Confirm Mac OS X Server variant if applicableIf running Mac OS X Server, check the version via 'About This Mac' or 'sw_vers' - Server versions are 10.7.x only for this CVEAffected if The system is Mac OS X Server version 10.7.0 through 10.7.5
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Verify CoreMedia Playback component existsThe CoreMedia framework is a built-in system component. Check for presence by running 'ls /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreMedia.framework' in TerminalAffected if The CoreMedia.framework directory exists (which it does on all standard Mac OS X installations)
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Confirm patch status indirectlySince there is no separate patch indicator for this specific vulnerability, verify the OS version is 10.8.4 or later as the patched stateAffected if The system is running any version of Mac OS X prior to 10.8.4 (for client) or the affected 10.7.x versions (for Server)
The environment is affected if the system runs Mac OS X version 10.8.3 or earlier, or Mac OS X Server 10.7.0 through 10.7.5, as the memory initialization flaw in CoreMedia Playback when processing text tracks in movie files is present in those versions.
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 dataApply Apple security update 10.8.4 or later to vulnerable Mac OS X systems. Until patched, avoid opening movie files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1024 — 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-2013-1024 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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