CVE-2018-4211
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11.4 is affected. macOS before 10.13.5 is affected. tvOS before 11.4 is affected. watchOS before 4.3.1 is affected. The issue involves the "FontParser" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted font 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 confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability in the FontParser component allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via specially crafted font files. The vulnerability affects iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS prior to their respective patched versions.
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< 11.4< 11.4< 10.13.5< 4.3.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 device type and operating systemDetermine whether the system is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch. Each has a different version numbering scheme.Affected if Device runs any of the affected Apple OS types (iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS)
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Check the installed iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field. Alternatively, connect to a computer with iTunes or Finder and check the device information.Affected if Version number is less than 11.4 (for example, 11.3.1, 11.3, 11.2.6)
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Check the installed macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name. Alternatively, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal.Affected if Version number is less than 10.13.5 (for example, 10.13.4, 10.13.3)
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Check the installed tvOS version on Apple TVGo to Settings > General > About > Version. Compare against the affected range.Affected if Version number is less than 11.4
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Check the installed watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About, and check the watchOS version. Alternatively, check on the Watch itself under Settings > General > About.Affected if Version number is less than 4.3.1
A system is affected if it runs any Apple operating system version lower than 11.4 (iOS/tvOS/watchOS) or lower than 10.13.5 (macOS), because the vulnerable FontParser component is present in those unpatched versions.
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 data4.3.110.13.511.4
Update all affected Apple devices to iOS 11.4+, macOS 10.13.5+, tvOS 11.4+, or watchOS 4.3.1+ to remediate. Consider disabling font file preview features or implementing font file validation if running custom font parsing code.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4211 — 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-2018-4211 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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