# CVE-2015-3693: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can exploit improper DDR3 refresh rates to trigger row-hammer attacks, leading to privilege escalation or denial of service via memory corruption.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 3 Jul 2015
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-53qj-236r-q3j5

## What is CVE-2015-3693?

CVE-2015-3693 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 3 Jul 2015. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Apple Mac EFI before 2015-001, as used in OS X before 10.10.4 and other products, does not properly set refresh rates for DDR3 RAM, which might make it easier for remote attackers to conduct row-hammer attacks, and consequently gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption), by triggering certain patterns of access to memory locations.

Weakness: CWE-254

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-3693?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apple Mac Os X.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-3693?

No fix has been published for CVE-2015-3693 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2015-3693 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2015-3693 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Rowhammer - NaCl Sandbox Escape (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-2015-3693 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-3693 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X, published on 3 Jul 2015. 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-2015-3693 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-2015-3693/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3693/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-3693
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3693
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-3693

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3693/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.