CVE-2015-5942
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 · uneditedFontParser in Apple iOS before 9.1, OS X before 10.11.1, and watchOS before 2.0.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted font file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5927.
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 confidenceFontParser in Apple iOS before 9.1, OS X before 10.11.1, and watchOS before 2.0.1 contains a memory corruption vulnerability that can be triggered by processing a crafted font file, allowing remote attackers 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<= 10.11.0<= 2.0.0<= 9.0.2CVSS 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 the installed iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About and check the Version numberAffected if The version is 9.0.2 or earlier (iOS versions below 9.1 are affected)
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Identify the installed OS X version on MacClick Apple menu > About This Mac to view the OS X version numberAffected if The version is 10.11.0 or earlier (OS X versions below 10.11.1 are affected)
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Identify the installed watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About to see watchOS versionAffected if The version is 2.0.0 or earlier (watchOS versions below 2.0.1 are affected)
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Determine if FontParser processes untrusted font filesReview whether applications or services on the device open font files from untrusted or unknown sources, such as email attachments, downloaded files, or websitesAffected if The device runs an affected OS version AND processes font files from untrusted sources
A user is affected if their device runs iOS 9.0.2 or earlier, OS X 10.11.0 or earlier, or watchOS 2.0.0 or earlier AND can be tricked into opening a maliciously crafted font file.
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 Apple devices to iOS 9.1+, OS X 10.11.1+, or watchOS 2.0.1+ respectively. Avoid opening font files from untrusted sources until patches are applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5942 — 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-2015-5942 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