CVE-2015-7036
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 fts3_tokenizer function in SQLite, as used in Apple iOS before 8.4 and OS X before 10.10.4, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a SQL command that triggers an API call with a crafted pointer value in the second argument.
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 fts3_tokenizer function in SQLite (used in iOS and OS X) does not properly validate pointer values passed in its second argument. By crafting malicious SQL commands, remote attackers can pass arbitrary pointer values that lead to arbitrary code execution or application crash via memory corruption.
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<= 10.10.3<= 8.3CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/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 your macOS versionRun 'sw_vers' or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to see the OS X version numberAffected if The version is 10.10.3 or earlier (OS X Yosemite and earlier)
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Check your iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the iOS device to see the iOS versionAffected if The version is 8.3 or earlier (iOS 8.3 and earlier)
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Verify the bundled SQLite library versionOn macOS, run 'sqlite3 --version' or check the libsqlite3.dylib file info: 'ls -l /usr/lib/libsqlite3*' and 'otool -L /usr/lib/libsqlite3.tbd'Affected if The SQLite version is older than the patched versions shipped in OS X 10.10.4/iOS 8.4 (specific version numbers unknown from provided data)
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Identify applications using FTS3 full-text searchSearch for applications or databases that use FTS3: check for .fts, .fts3, .fts4 file extensions or look for 'fts3' in application logs and database schemasAffected if Any application actively using FTS3 tables exists on the system
You are affected if your macOS version is 10.10.3 or earlier, or iOS is 8.3 or earlier, and you have applications using SQLite FTS3 functionality.
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 to Apple iOS 8.4+/OS X 10.10.4+ which contain patched SQLite versions, or update the bundled SQLite library to a version that validates pointer arguments in the fts3_tokenizer function.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7036 — 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-2015-7036 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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