CVE-2003-0883 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
The System Preferences capability in Mac OS X before 10.3 allows local users to access secure Preference Panes for a short period after an administrator has authenticated to the system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2003-0883 represents a critical access control flaw within the Mac OS X operating system's preference management subsystem. This issue affects versions prior to Mac OS X 10.3 and stems from improper privilege management during the authentication process. The flaw allows local users to exploit a temporal window where secure preference panes remain accessible even after administrative authentication has occurred, creating an unauthorized access path that violates fundamental security principles of privilege separation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the System Preferences framework's handling of user sessions and privilege escalation. When an administrator authenticates to the system, the preference pane access controls should immediately enforce proper authorization boundaries. However, the flaw in Mac OS X versions before 10.3 creates a race condition or timing gap where previously authenticated users can access restricted preference panes for a brief period. This temporal vulnerability occurs because the system fails to properly invalidate access tokens or session permissions immediately upon administrative authentication, allowing local users to leverage this window for unauthorized access to sensitive system configuration options.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially enable malicious local users to modify critical system preferences that should only be accessible to administrators. Attackers could exploit this weakness to alter network configurations, modify security settings, change user permissions, or access confidential system information that would normally be protected. The vulnerability's temporal nature makes it particularly dangerous as it provides a narrow but exploitable window where the system's security model is temporarily compromised, allowing unauthorized access to system controls that could lead to further privilege escalation or system compromise.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues, and demonstrates poor privilege management practices in operating system design. From an attack perspective, this flaw fits within the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation category, specifically targeting local user access to system resources. The vulnerability represents a failure in the system's mandatory access control mechanisms and demonstrates how improper session management can create security boundaries that are easily exploited by local adversaries. Organizations should consider implementing additional monitoring for preference pane access patterns and ensure timely patching of affected systems to prevent exploitation of this temporal access control weakness.
The remediation for this vulnerability requires immediate system updates to Mac OS X 10.3 or later versions where the access control mechanisms have been properly implemented. System administrators should conduct comprehensive audits of affected systems and verify that proper authentication boundaries are maintained throughout user session management. Additionally, organizations should implement monitoring solutions that can detect unauthorized access to system preference panes and establish proper baseline configurations that prevent local users from accessing restricted administrative functions. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper session management and privilege validation in operating system security design, emphasizing that even temporary access control gaps can provide significant attack vectors for malicious actors.