CVE-2012-0649 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in the initialization routine in blued in Bluetooth in Apple Mac OS X before 10.7.4 allows local users to gain privileges via vectors involving a temporary file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-0649 represents a critical race condition flaw within the Bluetooth subsystem of Apple Mac OS X operating systems. This issue specifically affects the blued daemon which manages Bluetooth services and communications on macOS platforms. The vulnerability exists in the initialization routine of this daemon, creating a window where malicious local users can exploit temporal inconsistencies during system startup or service initialization processes. The race condition occurs when the system creates temporary files during Bluetooth service initialization, allowing an attacker to manipulate or intercept these files before they are properly secured.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of temporary file creation and access permissions within the Bluetooth initialization sequence. When the blued daemon starts, it generates temporary files that are not adequately secured against concurrent access attempts. This flaw enables a local attacker to create malicious files with the same names as the temporary files, potentially causing the system to execute unauthorized code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the system level where the daemon runs with administrative privileges, making privilege escalation possible through carefully crafted file manipulation attacks. The race condition typically occurs during the initialization phase when the system has not yet established proper file access controls or when file permissions are temporarily relaxed.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability provides local users with a pathway to achieve privilege escalation from standard user accounts to administrative privileges, effectively bypassing macOS security controls. The attack vector is relatively straightforward as it requires only local system access and knowledge of the temporary file creation patterns within the Bluetooth subsystem. Security researchers have identified that this vulnerability can be exploited to execute arbitrary code with root privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The risk is elevated because the Bluetooth service is often enabled by default on macOS systems, and the race condition window exists during system startup or service restart operations.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-367, which describes the "Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use" flaw pattern, where a system checks file permissions or existence at one point in time and then uses that file at a later point without revalidating the state. Additionally, this issue relates to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" and T1059, covering "Command and Scripting Interpreter" as attackers may use this vulnerability to execute malicious commands with elevated privileges. The mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper file access controls, ensuring atomic file creation operations, and applying timely security patches from Apple. System administrators should immediately apply the macOS 10.7.4 update or later versions that address this specific race condition in the Bluetooth initialization routine. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of secure temporary file handling practices and proper privilege separation in system services to prevent similar issues in other components of the operating system.