CVE-2013-1018 in QuickTime
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Apple QuickTime before 7.7.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted movie file with H.264 encoding.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-1018 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw in Apple QuickTime media player software prior to version 7.7.4. This security weakness specifically affects the handling of H.264 encoded movie files, which are widely used multimedia formats that support high-definition video content. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the QuickTime player's parser for H.264 video streams, creating an exploitable condition that can be triggered through maliciously crafted media files.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs when QuickTime processes specially constructed H.264 movie files that contain malformed data structures in their video stream headers or frame data. When the media player attempts to decode and render these crafted video elements, it fails to properly bounds-check memory allocations, leading to a situation where data written to memory buffers exceeds their allocated capacity. This overflow condition can overwrite adjacent memory regions, potentially corrupting program execution flow or injecting malicious code into the application's memory space. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited remotely through web-based delivery mechanisms or email attachments containing malicious QuickTime content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially enable full remote code execution on affected systems. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the QuickTime process, which typically runs with user-level permissions but can potentially be escalated through additional attack vectors. The vulnerability affects a broad range of systems since QuickTime was widely distributed across both desktop and mobile platforms, making it a prime target for mass exploitation campaigns. Organizations relying on QuickTime for media playback in corporate environments, educational institutions, or public-facing applications face significant risk of compromise, as the attack surface includes web browsers, email clients, and media players integrated into various software applications.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that QuickTime was often installed by default on many systems and integrated into web browsers, making exploitation relatively straightforward for threat actors. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected QuickTime installations to address this vulnerability, while also implementing network segmentation and content filtering measures to prevent unauthorized media file delivery. Additional mitigations include disabling QuickTime plugin support in web browsers, implementing application whitelisting policies, and monitoring for unusual network traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider conducting vulnerability assessments to identify any legacy systems that may still be running vulnerable versions of the QuickTime player, as the impact of this flaw extends across multiple operating system platforms including macOS and Windows environments where the software was deployed.