# CVE-2011-3336: Denial of service in macOS

> A stack exhaustion vulnerability in the BSD libc regcomp function allows attackers to cause a denial of service on macOS systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g49p-q335-6257

## What is CVE-2011-3336?

CVE-2011-3336 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 12 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

regcomp in the BSD implementation of libc is vulnerable to denial of service due to stack exhaustion.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-3336?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Apple Mac Os X, Freebsd Freebsd, Openbsd Openbsd, Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-3336?

No fix has been published for CVE-2011-3336 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2011-3336 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-3336 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Libc - 'regcomp()' Stack Exhaustion Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Mac Os X

- [CVE-2014-7169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-7169/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-6271](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-6271/): GNU Bourne-Again Shell (Bash) Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2012-1823](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1823/): PHP-CGI Query String Parameter (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30713](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30713/): Apple macOS Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-8526](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-8526/): Apple macOS Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-3336 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-3336 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 12 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2011-3336 exists.

Affected product: Apple Mac Os X. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3336/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3336/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-3336
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3336
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-3336

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3336/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.