CVE-2015-5940
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 Accelerate Framework component in Apple iOS before 9.1 and OS X before 10.11.1, when multi-threading is enabled, omits certain validation and locking steps, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site.
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 Accelerate Framework in Apple iOS before 9.1 and OS X before 10.11.1 contains a race condition vulnerability. When multi-threading is enabled, the framework omits required validation and locking steps, allowing memory corruption that can be exploited via malicious web content to achieve arbitrary code execution 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<= 9.0.2<= 10.11.0CVSS 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 and look at the 'Version' field, or run 'nsgenerictypesd' or check /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plistAffected if Version is 9.0.2 or earlier (any version <= 9.0.2)
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Check macOS version on MacClick Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in TerminalAffected if Version is 10.11.0 or earlier (any version <= 10.11.0)
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Confirm Accelerate Framework is presentThe Accelerate Framework is a system framework included by default in iOS and macOS. Check for existence at /System/Library/Frameworks/Accelerate.framework on macOS or the equivalent on iOSAffected if Framework exists on the system (it is present by default in affected OS versions)
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Assess web-facing attack surfaceThis vulnerability is exploitable via malicious web content processed by WebKit (used by Safari). Check if Safari or any WebKit-based browser is usedAffected if Safari or WebKit-based browsers are used to visit untrusted websites (the exploitation vector)
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Determine if multi-threading is enabledMulti-threading is enabled by default in the Accelerate Framework for performance. This is not a configurable setting - the vulnerability exists when the framework performs parallel operationsAffected if The Accelerate Framework is used by any application (the race condition exists in the framework's multi-threaded code paths)
A system is affected if it runs iOS 9.0.2 or earlier, or macOS 10.11.0 or earlier, and uses the Accelerate Framework (which is present by default) with any web browsing activity.
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 affected devices to iOS 9.1 or later, or OS X 10.11.1 or later. Users should avoid untrusted websites until patches are applied.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 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-2015-5940 — 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-2015-5940 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