CVE-2007-4315 in ATI
Summary
by MITRE
The AMD ATI atidsmxx.sys 3.0.502.0 driver on Windows Vista allows local users to bypass the driver signing policy, write to arbitrary kernel memory locations, and thereby gain privileges via unspecified vectors, as demonstrated by "Purple Pill".
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-4315 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the AMD ATI atidsmxx.sys driver version 3.0.502.0 that operates on Microsoft Windows Vista operating systems. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and improper privilege checks within the kernel-mode driver component, creating an exploitable condition that allows local attackers to circumvent the system's driver signing requirements. The vulnerability specifically affects the AMD Radeon graphics driver implementation and demonstrates how flawed kernel-mode security controls can enable attackers to gain elevated system privileges through direct memory manipulation techniques.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leverages the driver's failure to properly validate memory access requests and validate user input before processing kernel-level operations. Attackers can manipulate the driver to write to arbitrary kernel memory locations by exploiting unspecified vectors that bypass the normal driver signing enforcement mechanisms. This allows malicious code to be loaded directly into kernel space without proper signature verification, effectively disabling the operating system's security controls that normally prevent unsigned or untrusted drivers from executing with elevated privileges. The vulnerability's exploitation technique aligns with common kernel-mode exploit patterns that target driver components with insufficient access control mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching within Windows Vista environments. Local users who can execute code on the target system can leverage this flaw to achieve privilege escalation from standard user level to kernel-level privileges, effectively gaining complete system control. Once exploited, attackers can bypass the system's security model entirely, allowing them to modify system files, disable security features, install rootkits, and access sensitive data without detection. The vulnerability's exploitation is particularly dangerous because it operates entirely within the kernel space, making traditional user-mode security controls ineffective against the attack vector.
The security implications extend beyond simple privilege escalation as this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper kernel-mode driver security implementation and the dangers of insufficient input validation in system-level components. The "Purple Pill" demonstration proves that such vulnerabilities can be reliably exploited to gain complete system compromise, highlighting the need for robust driver signing policies and kernel-mode security controls. This vulnerability type maps directly to CWE-248, which addresses the exposure of an exception in an unhandled state, and aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and kernel-mode exploitation. Organizations should implement comprehensive driver verification policies, maintain updated driver versions, and deploy kernel-mode protection mechanisms to defend against similar vulnerabilities in their Windows Vista environments. The flaw underscores the necessity of thorough security testing for kernel-mode components and proper enforcement of operating system security policies to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation attacks.