SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2015-5780
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 · uneditedThe Safari Extensions implementation in Apple Safari before 9 does not require user confirmation before replacing an installed extension, which has unspecified impact and attack vectors.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Safari before version 9 allows replacement of installed extensions without any user confirmation. An attacker could exploit this to silently replace a legitimate browser extension with a malicious version, potentially enabling data theft, man-in-the-middle attacks, or code execution within the browser context.
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
<= 8.0.8CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/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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Check installed Safari versionOpen Safari, go to Safari > About Safari, or run `system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType | grep -A5 Safari` in TerminalAffected if The version displayed is 8.0.8 or earlier, or shows a version prior to 9.0
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Confirm Safari is the affected buildLook for the full version number in the About dialog (e.g., 8.0.7, 8.0.6, 8.0.5). Compare against the affected range.Affected if The build shows any version <= 8.0.8
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Determine if extensions are enabledIn Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions. Look for any listed extensions.Affected if One or more extensions are installed and enabled in Safari (the vulnerability allows silent replacement of these)
You are affected if Safari version is 8.0.8 or earlier AND you have any browser extensions installed, as the flaw permits silent replacement of extensions without user confirmation.
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 · scopedUpgrade to Safari 9 or later, which implements user confirmation prompts before allowing extension replacement. Organizations should also review installed extensions for any unexpected changes.
Safari 9 (bundled with OS X El Capitan 10.11)
- Open the Apple menu and select 'About This Mac' to check your current macOS version
- If running macOS Yosemite (10.10) or earlier, upgrade to macOS El Capitan (10.11) or later via the Mac App Store to obtain Safari 9 or newer
- After upgrading macOS, Safari will automatically be updated to version 9 or newer, which contains the fix for CVE-2015-5780
- To verify the fix, open Safari and go to Safari > About Safari to confirm the version is 9.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5780 — 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-2015-5780 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