CVE-2006-1450 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
Mail in Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an enriched text e-mail message with "invalid color information" that causes Mail to allocate and initialize arbitrary classes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2025
The vulnerability described in CVE-2006-1450 represents a critical buffer overflow condition within Apple Mac OS X Mail application affecting versions 10.3.9 and 10.4.6. This flaw resides in the email client's handling of enriched text messages, specifically when processing malformed color information within email headers or content. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management practices within the Mail application's text rendering engine, which fails to properly sanitize color specifications in rich text formatted emails.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts a malicious email message containing invalid color information within the enriched text portion of the email. When the vulnerable Mail application processes this message, it attempts to allocate memory for arbitrary class initialization based on the malformed color data. This improper memory handling creates a condition where attacker-controlled data can influence the application's memory allocation patterns and potentially overwrite critical memory regions. The flaw manifests as a classic heap-based buffer overflow scenario where the application's text processing routines fail to validate the length and format of color specification data, leading to unauthorized memory manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it provides remote attackers with the capability to gain arbitrary code execution within the context of the Mail application. This represents a significant privilege escalation risk since the Mail application typically runs with user-level privileges but has access to the user's email data and system resources. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious payloads that could steal sensitive information, modify email content, or establish persistent access to the compromised system. The vulnerability affects the core email processing functionality and represents a fundamental flaw in the application's memory management and input validation mechanisms.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as mapping to CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, and CWE-122, stack-based buffer overflow, while also aligning with ATT&CK technique T1190 for Exploit Public-Facing Application. The remediation strategy should prioritize immediate patch application from Apple, which would include enhanced input validation for color specifications and improved memory allocation routines within the Mail application. Organizations should also implement email filtering measures to block suspicious enriched text content and consider network segmentation to limit potential lateral movement if exploitation occurs. Additionally, regular security assessments of email client applications should be conducted to identify similar memory handling vulnerabilities that could provide similar attack vectors for remote code execution.