CVE-2007-2400 in Safari
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in Apple Safari 3 Beta before 3.0.2 on Mac OS X, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and iPhone before 1.0.1, allows remote attackers to bypass the JavaScript security model and modify pages outside of the security domain and conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via vectors related to page updating and HTTP redirects.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition flaw in Apple Safari browsers that affected multiple operating systems including Mac OS X Windows XP and Vista as well as the iPhone platform. The issue stems from improper handling of page updating processes combined with HTTP redirect mechanisms during web navigation. The race condition occurs when the browser processes multiple concurrent operations that should be serialized but instead execute in an unpredictable order. This timing discrepancy creates a window where JavaScript security restrictions can be bypassed, allowing malicious actors to manipulate page content outside of the designated security domain.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the asynchronous nature of browser operations where HTTP redirects and page updates occur simultaneously without proper synchronization mechanisms. When a user navigates to a malicious website the browser may process redirects and page modifications in a manner that violates the same-origin policy enforcement. This allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript code that can access and modify resources outside the intended security boundaries. The flaw specifically affects the JavaScript security model implementation where the browser fails to properly validate cross-domain access permissions during rapid page transition scenarios.
From an operational impact perspective this vulnerability enables sophisticated cross-site scripting attacks that can compromise user sessions and steal sensitive information. Attackers can leverage this race condition to execute arbitrary code within the browser context and potentially access user data stored locally. The vulnerability affects all targeted platforms including mobile devices making it particularly dangerous as users may be browsing on multiple devices with varying security postures. The impact extends beyond simple XSS exploitation to include potential privilege escalation and session hijacking attacks that could lead to complete system compromise.
The underlying cause of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-362 which describes race conditions in security-critical operations. This weakness falls under the broader category of improper synchronization in concurrent programming where multiple threads or processes access shared resources without proper locking mechanisms. The ATT&CK framework would classify this as a privilege escalation technique through browser exploitation and could be categorized under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering. Organizations should implement immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability and consider deploying web application firewalls to detect and prevent exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate deployment of Safari updates to version 3.0.2 or later which contain the necessary synchronization fixes. Browser security policies should be enhanced to restrict cross-domain JavaScript access and implement additional validation checks for HTTP redirect handling. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous redirect patterns and suspicious JavaScript execution sequences. Regular security assessments should verify that browser configurations comply with security best practices and that automatic update mechanisms are properly configured to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. System administrators should also consider implementing content security policies and strict browser security settings to minimize the attack surface available to potential exploiters.