CVE-2015-5829
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 · uneditedData Detectors Engine in Apple iOS before 9 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted text 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 · moderate confidenceThe Data Detectors Engine in Apple iOS before version 9 contains a memory corruption vulnerability that can be triggered by a specially crafted text file. A remote attacker can exploit this to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service condition.
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<= 8.4.1= 1.0CVSS 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 iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About > Version, or connect device to computer and check via iTunes/Finder, or use MDM/EMM inventoryAffected if Version is 8.4.1 or earlier (any version up to and including 8.4.1)
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Check WatchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or open Settings app on Apple Watch and navigate to General > AboutAffected if Version is exactly 1.0 (the only affected WatchOS version listed)
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Verify Data Detectors Engine availabilityData Detectors is a built-in iOS subsystem that processes text strings for data detection (dates, addresses, phone numbers). It cannot be disabled and is active whenever text is rendered or processed by the system.Affected if Device is running any affected iOS version (8.4.1 or earlier) - the component is always present and active by default
A device is affected if it runs iOS 8.4.1 or earlier, or Apple Watch with WatchOS exactly 1.0, as the memory corruption flaw in the Data Detectors Engine can be triggered when processing specially crafted text 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 dataDeploy iOS 9 or later to all affected devices to patch the vulnerability in the Data Detectors Engine.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5829 — 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-2015-5829 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data