CVE-2011-0258 in QuickTime
Summary
by MITRE
Apple QuickTime before 7.7 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted image description associated with an mp4v tag in a movie file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2021
Apple QuickTime version 7.6.2 and earlier on Windows platforms contained a critical buffer overflow vulnerability that enabled remote code execution through malformed mp4v tag processing. This vulnerability specifically affected the handling of image description structures within movie files, where the application failed to properly validate the length of data associated with the mp4v tag. When QuickTime encountered a crafted movie file containing an oversized or malformed image description field, the application would attempt to copy this data into a fixed-size buffer without adequate bounds checking, resulting in memory corruption that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code or cause application crashes.
The technical flaw resides in the improper input validation mechanisms within QuickTime's media processing pipeline, where the mp4v tag parser does not perform sufficient boundary checks on the image description data. This memory corruption vulnerability maps to CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-787, which addresses out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. The vulnerability operates through a classic buffer overflow exploit pattern where attacker-controlled data exceeds the allocated buffer space, potentially overwriting adjacent memory locations including return addresses and function pointers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to include full remote code execution capabilities, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may unknowingly open malicious media files. Attackers could craft specially formatted movie files that, when opened by an affected QuickTime version, would trigger the buffer overflow condition and allow remote attackers to execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected user. This vulnerability particularly affects Windows systems running older versions of QuickTime and represents a significant threat vector for phishing campaigns and drive-by download attacks.
The mitigation strategy involves immediate deployment of Apple's security update version 7.7 which includes proper bounds checking and input validation for mp4v tag processing. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems receive the update promptly. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of QuickTime components to trusted environments, and security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in multimedia processing libraries and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers legitimate user execution paths that can be exploited for code execution.