SafariWeb browser · Apple
CVE-2015-5818
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 iOS before 9 and iTunes before 12.3, 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-2015-09-16-1 and APPLE-SA-2015-09-16-3.
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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via crafted malicious websites. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling in WebKit as used in iOS and iTunes, enabling potential code execution through heap corruption or use-after-free conditions.
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
<= 8.0.8<= 12.2<= 8.4.1CVSS 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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Identify if Apple Safari is installedOn macOS, open Safari > Safari menu > About Safari to view the version number. Compare against 8.0.8 (vulnerable if 8.0.8 or earlier)Affected if Safari version is 8.0.8 or lower on systems where this version was available (OS X Yosemite and earlier)
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Identify if Apple iTunes is installedOpen iTunes > Help > About iTunes to view the version number. Compare against 12.2 (vulnerable if 12.2 or earlier)Affected if iTunes version is 12.2 or lower on Windows or older macOS versions
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Identify if the device runs iOS (iPhone OS)On an iOS device, go to Settings > General > About > Version to see the iOS version. Compare against 8.4.1 (vulnerable if 8.4.1 or lower)Affected if iOS version is 8.4.1 or lower on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch devices
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Confirm WebKit usage contextThis vulnerability is triggered through WebKit when visiting malicious websites. The flaw exists in the WebKit rendering engine component used by Safari and iOS. Ensure browser history or potential infection indicators are reviewed if vulnerable versions were in useAffected if A vulnerable version of Safari, iTunes (which includes iTunes Browser/WebKit), or iOS was actively used to browse the internet
A user is affected if any of Safari (8.0.8 or lower), iTunes (12.2 or lower), or iOS (8.4.1 or lower) are installed and were used to access 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 iOS to version 9 or later and iTunes to version 12.3 or later to patch the vulnerable WebKit component. Avoid browsing untrusted websites as a temporary workaround.
Fix this in Safari
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5818 — 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-2015-5818 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