CVE-2014-4353 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in iMessage in Apple iOS before 8 allows attackers to obtain sensitive information by leveraging the presence of an attachment after the deletion of its parent (1) iMessage or (2) MMS.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/20/2022
The vulnerability described in CVE-2014-4353 represents a critical race condition affecting Apple iOS versions prior to 8.0 within the iMessage and MMS messaging frameworks. This flaw stems from improper handling of message attachments and their relationship to parent message objects during deletion operations. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker can exploit the timing window between when a parent message is deleted and when its associated attachment is fully removed from system memory or storage structures. This race condition creates a scenario where sensitive information remains accessible through the attachment even after the parent message has been removed from the user's messaging interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the iOS messaging subsystem's failure to properly synchronize attachment cleanup operations with parent message deletion processes. When a user deletes an iMessage or MMS containing an attachment, the system should ensure complete removal of both the message metadata and associated binary data. However, the race condition occurs because the attachment cleanup process does not wait for the parent message deletion to complete before potentially exposing the attachment data. This timing discrepancy allows for potential data leakage through the attachment's memory footprint or cached references that persist beyond the expected cleanup timeline.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-4353 extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could gain access to sensitive data contained within message attachments, including documents, images, or other file types that were previously deleted from the messaging context. This access could occur through various methods including memory analysis, file system recovery techniques, or direct exploitation of the race condition during message processing. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects core messaging functionality that users rely on for both personal and professional communications, potentially exposing confidential information in transit or at rest.
Security practitioners should consider this vulnerability in the context of broader mobile security frameworks and its alignment with CWE-367, which addresses time-of-check to time-of-use race conditions. The flaw demonstrates how improper synchronization between system operations can create security gaps that attackers can leverage for unauthorized data access. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability relates to privilege escalation and credential access techniques, as it allows adversaries to potentially access data that should have been securely removed. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating affected iOS devices to version 8.0 or later, where Apple addressed the race condition through improved synchronization mechanisms in message and attachment handling. Additionally, security teams should monitor for potential exploitation attempts and consider network-based detection measures that could identify abnormal messaging behavior patterns consistent with this vulnerability's exploitation methods.