CVE-2015-5841
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 CFNetwork Proxies component in Apple iOS before 9 does not properly handle a Set-Cookie header within a response to an HTTP CONNECT request, which allows remote proxy servers to conduct cookie-injection attacks via a crafted response.
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 confidenceThe CFNetwork Proxies component in iOS versions before 9 fails to properly validate Set-Cookie headers received in responses to HTTP CONNECT requests. This allows a malicious proxy server to inject arbitrary cookies into the client's session, which the iOS device will accept as legitimate, leading to session hijacking or authentication bypass.
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<= 10.10.5<= 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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. Note the version number displayed.Affected if The version is 8.4.1 or lower (e.g., 8.4, 8.3, 8.2, etc.)
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Check macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number under the macOS name.Affected if The version is 10.10.5 or lower (e.g., 10.10.4, 10.10.3, etc.)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOn the paired iPhone, open the Watch app > My Watch > General > About. Note the watchOS version.Affected if The version is exactly 1.0 (only version 1.0 is listed as affected for watchOS)
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Determine if proxy settings are configuredOn iOS: Settings > Wi-Fi > tap the info (i) icon next to a network > HTTP Proxy section. On macOS: System Preferences > Network > select a service > Advanced > Proxies. Check if any proxy (HTTP, HTTPS, Proxy Auto-Config, or automatic proxy discovery) is enabled.Affected if Any proxy configuration is enabled on the device - the vulnerability allows a malicious proxy to inject cookies, so active proxy usage increases exposure but the vulnerable code path exists regardless
You are affected if your device runs iOS 8.4.1 or lower, macOS 10.10.5 or lower, or watchOS 1.0, and the device has any proxy settings configured or may connect to untrusted networks with proxies.
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 dataUpgrade all iOS devices to version 9 or later. For legacy systems that cannot be upgraded, consider network segmentation to limit proxy exposure or implement additional application-layer cookie validation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5841 — 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-2015-5841 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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