CVE-2005-2524 in Safari
Summary
by MITRE
Safari after 2.0 in Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 allows remote attackers to bypass domain restrictions via crafted web archives that cause Safari to render them as if they came from a different site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/10/2019
This vulnerability represents a significant cross-site scripting and domain restriction bypass issue affecting Apple Safari web browser versions following 2.0 in Mac OS X 10.3.9. The flaw enables remote attackers to manipulate how web archives are rendered by the browser, effectively allowing them to spoof the origin domain of content. This technical weakness stems from improper handling of web archive files that contain crafted content designed to exploit the browser's rendering engine. The vulnerability specifically targets the security model that Safari employs to enforce domain restrictions, which are fundamental to preventing malicious cross-site scripting attacks and protecting users from potentially harmful content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of web archive formats, particularly those used by Safari for saving and loading web pages. When Safari processes these crafted archives, it fails to properly validate the originating domain information, causing the browser to render content as if it originated from a different, potentially malicious domain. This behavior creates a pathway for attackers to bypass the same-origin policy enforcement that browsers implement to protect against cross-site scripting attacks. The vulnerability operates at the level of browser rendering and security policy enforcement, making it particularly dangerous as it undermines fundamental web security principles. According to CWE standards, this corresponds to CWE-94, which covers "Improper Control of Generation of Code," and CWE-346, "Origin Validation Error," as it involves improper validation of source origins.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple domain spoofing to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks including phishing, credential theft, and cross-site scripting exploitation. Attackers can craft web archives that appear to originate from trusted domains while actually delivering malicious content, effectively bypassing security mechanisms designed to protect users from such threats. This vulnerability particularly affects users who may unknowingly download and open malicious web archives, creating a social engineering attack vector that combines technical exploitation with user deception. The risk is amplified because web archives are commonly used for legitimate purposes such as saving web pages for later viewing, making the attack surface larger and more difficult to detect. Organizations and individuals using affected Safari versions face significant exposure to attacks that could compromise sensitive data or system integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate browser updates and security policy enforcement. Apple released patches to address this issue in subsequent updates to Mac OS X, and users should ensure they are running the latest available versions of the operating system and Safari browser. Security administrators should implement network-level controls to monitor and restrict access to potentially malicious web archive files, particularly those that might be disguised as legitimate content. Browser security configurations should be reviewed to ensure that domain restriction policies are properly enforced, and users should be educated about the risks of opening untrusted web archives. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and origin verification in web browser implementations, aligning with ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation and defense evasion through browser exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and content filtering solutions to detect and prevent the delivery of malicious web archives to end users.