CVE-2010-1751 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
Application Sandbox in Apple iOS before 4 on the iPhone and iPod touch does not prevent photo-library access, which might allow remote attackers to obtain location information via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/16/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-1751 represents a critical sandboxing flaw in Apple iOS versions prior to 4.0, specifically affecting iPhone and iPod touch devices. This issue fundamentally undermines the security model designed to isolate applications from each other and from system resources, creating a pathway for unauthorized data access that extends beyond the intended boundaries of application security. The flaw exists within the application sandbox mechanism that should theoretically prevent one application from accessing another's data or system resources, including sensitive information such as location data stored in photo libraries.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the iOS sandbox implementation that governs how applications interact with the device's photo library and associated metadata. While the exact unspecified vectors remain undisclosed, the flaw likely involves improper privilege escalation or access control bypass mechanisms that allow malicious applications to traverse the security boundaries established by the sandbox. This represents a classic case of inadequate privilege separation where applications that should be restricted from accessing location information embedded in photo metadata can potentially do so through the photo library access permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables remote attackers to exploit the sandbox weakness to obtain location information from users' photo libraries. Photo metadata, particularly EXIF data, often contains precise geolocation information that can reveal users' whereabouts, travel patterns, and personal habits. This creates a substantial privacy risk where attackers could potentially determine sensitive information about users' locations, including home addresses, workplace locations, or other personally identifiable information that could be used for social engineering, stalking, or other malicious purposes. The vulnerability essentially transforms the normally protected photo library into an unauthorized data exfiltration channel.
This flaw aligns with CWE-255 privilege escalation and access control vulnerabilities, specifically addressing weaknesses in the implementation of security mechanisms that should prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the principle of least privilege where applications should not have access to location information unless explicitly granted permission for such functionality. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1056.001 for input capture and T1566 for phishing, as attackers could leverage this to create more convincing social engineering attacks by having access to location-based personal information.
Mitigation efforts for this vulnerability required Apple to implement comprehensive sandboxing improvements in iOS 4.0, including stricter enforcement of access controls for photo library metadata, enhanced privilege separation mechanisms, and more robust application permission models. Users were advised to upgrade to iOS 4.0 or later versions where these security fixes were implemented. Organizations should have implemented mobile device management policies that enforced timely OS updates and monitored for vulnerable device configurations. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of regular security updates and the need for comprehensive security testing of sandboxing mechanisms to prevent such cross-application data leakage scenarios.