CVE-2007-0742 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
The WebFoundation framework in Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and earlier allows subdomain cookies to be accessed by the parent domain, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-0742 represents a critical cross-site scripting and information disclosure weakness within Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and earlier versions. This flaw exists within the WebFoundation framework, which serves as a core component for web application development and network communication in the operating system. The issue stems from improper implementation of cookie security policies that fail to properly isolate subdomain cookies from their parent domain counterparts, creating a significant breach in the browser's security model.
The technical flaw manifests when web applications hosted on subdomains fail to properly enforce cookie domain boundaries, allowing malicious actors to access cookies that should be restricted to specific subdomains. This occurs because the WebFoundation framework does not adequately validate or enforce the cookie domain attributes, enabling a parent domain to read cookies that were intended for subdomains only. The vulnerability specifically affects systems running Mac OS X 10.3.9 and earlier versions, where the framework's cookie handling mechanism lacks proper security controls to prevent cross-domain cookie access.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for users of affected systems, particularly in environments where sensitive information is stored in cookies. Attackers can exploit this weakness to hijack user sessions, steal authentication tokens, or access confidential data that was previously protected by cookie domain restrictions. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially compromise entire web applications and services that rely on proper cookie isolation for security. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-384, which addresses session management flaws that can lead to unauthorized access, and represents a classic example of insufficient cookie security controls.
The exploitation of this vulnerability typically involves crafting malicious web content or leveraging existing web applications to access cookies from different domains within the same parent domain hierarchy. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform session hijacking attacks, where they intercept and reuse valid session cookies to impersonate legitimate users. The security implications are particularly severe in corporate environments where users may access multiple subdomains of the same parent organization, as a single compromised subdomain could potentially expose sensitive information across the entire domain structure. This vulnerability also relates to ATT&CK technique T1531, which focuses on credential access through the exploitation of application vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-0742 primarily involve upgrading to Apple Mac OS X versions that address this cookie handling flaw, specifically versions 10.4 and later where the WebFoundation framework was properly updated to enforce cookie domain boundaries. System administrators should also implement additional security measures such as setting proper cookie attributes including the Secure and HttpOnly flags, and ensuring that web applications properly configure their cookie domain restrictions. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify applications that may be vulnerable to this type of cross-domain cookie access and implement proper network segmentation to limit the potential impact of such attacks. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper cookie security implementation in web applications and operating system frameworks, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple subdomains may be in use.