CVE-2010-1414 in Safari
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit in Apple Safari before 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.5 through 10.6 and Windows, and before 4.1 on Mac OS X 10.4, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via vectors related to the removeChild DOM method.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/10/2025
The CVE-2010-1414 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw within WebKit's implementation in Apple Safari browsers across multiple operating systems. This vulnerability specifically targets the removeChild DOM method, which is a fundamental component of Document Object Model manipulation in web applications. The flaw occurs when the web browser's JavaScript engine fails to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation for DOM objects, creating opportunities for malicious code execution through improper memory handling during DOM operations. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Safari versions and operating systems, including Mac OS X 10.5 through 10.6 on Mac systems and Windows platforms, as well as Mac OS X 10.4 versions prior to 4.1, demonstrating the widespread impact of this memory management issue.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves crafting malicious web content that triggers the removeChild DOM method in a way that causes the browser to free memory associated with a DOM object while still maintaining references to it. When subsequent operations attempt to access this freed memory location, the application experiences undefined behavior that can result in either arbitrary code execution or application crash. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of Use After Free, which is classified as a memory safety issue where a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it points to has been freed. The underlying cause stems from inadequate reference counting or memory management in the WebKit rendering engine's DOM implementation, particularly when handling dynamic DOM element removal operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to encompass potential remote code execution capabilities that could allow attackers to compromise user systems. Attackers can leverage this flaw by hosting malicious web content that, when loaded in Safari, triggers the vulnerable code path through carefully constructed DOM manipulation sequences. The vulnerability's exploitation requires no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous as a zero-day attack vector. The affected platforms include older versions of Mac OS X and Windows systems, which often represent legacy environments that may not receive timely security updates, amplifying the risk for organizations maintaining these systems. This vulnerability directly maps to attack techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 sub-technique for Scripting and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, demonstrating how memory corruption vulnerabilities can be leveraged for broader compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-1414 primarily focus on immediate browser updates and system patching, as Apple released Safari versions 5.0 for Mac OS X 10.5 through 10.6 and 4.1 for Mac OS X 10.4 that addressed the memory management issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all Safari installations are updated to versions that contain the necessary memory safety fixes. Additional protective measures include implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious content, deploying sandboxing technologies to limit the impact of potential exploitation, and educating users about avoiding untrusted websites. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper memory management in browser engines and underscores the need for regular security assessments of web rendering components. Security professionals should monitor for similar patterns in other web browser implementations and consider implementing automated scanning tools to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting memory corruption vulnerabilities in web applications.