CVE-2015-1098 in MacOS X
Summary
by MITRE
iWork in Apple iOS before 8.3 and Apple OS X before 10.10.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted iWork file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/01/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-1098 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's iWork suite affecting both iOS and macOS operating systems. This vulnerability resides in the processing mechanisms of iWork files, specifically in the way the software handles malformed or specially crafted documents. The flaw allows remote attackers to exploit the application's memory management functions through the mere act of opening a maliciously prepared iWork file, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system-wide denial of service conditions. The vulnerability affects versions of iOS prior to 8.3 and macOS prior to 10.10.3, indicating that the memory corruption issue was present in the underlying document parsing libraries used by these applications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and memory handling within the iWork application's file processing pipeline. When a user opens a crafted iWork file, the application's parser fails to properly validate the structure and content of the document, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged by attackers. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution. The flaw demonstrates characteristics of a buffer overflow or heap corruption vulnerability where attacker-controlled data can overwrite memory regions that should remain protected, creating opportunities for code injection attacks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprise and individual users alike, as it enables remote code execution without user interaction beyond opening the malicious file. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it can be delivered through email attachments, web downloads, or any method that delivers an iWork document to a vulnerable system. The potential impact includes complete system compromise, data theft, persistent backdoor installation, and denial of service scenarios that can affect business operations. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving initial access through malicious files and privilege escalation through code execution, making it a critical target for both nation-state actors and cybercriminal organizations.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal user interaction, as the malicious file only needs to be opened to trigger the memory corruption. Attackers can craft iWork files that contain specially constructed data structures designed to overflow buffers or corrupt memory pointers during parsing operations. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios where attackers can deliver malicious documents through social engineering campaigns. The memory corruption can manifest in various ways including stack corruption, heap corruption, or pointer dereference errors that can be leveraged to redirect program execution flow. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including patching affected systems, implementing email filtering rules for iWork file attachments, and conducting user awareness training to avoid opening suspicious documents from untrusted sources.
Security professionals should note that this vulnerability highlights the importance of input validation and memory safety practices in document processing applications. The flaw demonstrates how complex file format parsers can become attack surfaces when proper bounds checking and memory management practices are not implemented. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical need for robust application security testing, particularly for applications that process untrusted data from external sources. Remediation efforts should focus on applying the official security patches released by Apple, which address the underlying memory corruption issues in the iWork document processing libraries. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual file access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of maintaining up-to-date security patches across all endpoints, as unpatched systems remain vulnerable to exploitation even when network defenses are properly configured.