CVE-2015-1128 in Safari
Summary
by MITRE
The private-browsing implementation in Apple Safari before 6.2.5, 7.x before 7.1.5, and 8.x before 8.0.5 allows attackers to obtain sensitive browsing-history information via vectors involving push-notification requests.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-1128 represents a critical privacy flaw in Apple Safari's private browsing implementation across multiple versions. This security issue affects Safari browsers running on macOS and iOS operating systems, specifically targeting versions prior to the mentioned patches. The flaw lies within how Safari handles push-notification requests during private browsing sessions, creating an unintended information disclosure channel that compromises user privacy. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it undermines the fundamental purpose of private browsing modes which are designed to prevent tracking and preserve user confidentiality during web navigation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper isolation between private browsing contexts and notification handling mechanisms within the Safari browser architecture. When push notifications are received during private browsing sessions, the browser fails to properly sanitize or isolate the notification request data from the underlying browsing history and session information. This implementation flaw allows attackers to craft malicious push notification requests that can extract sensitive browsing history data from the victim's private browsing context. The vulnerability operates through a side-channel attack vector where notification metadata inadvertently reveals information about previously visited websites, search queries, and browsing patterns that should remain private.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-1128 extends beyond simple privacy concerns to potentially enable sophisticated tracking and surveillance operations. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to reconstruct user browsing histories, identify sensitive online activities, and potentially correlate this information with other data sources for targeted attacks. The vulnerability affects users across multiple operating system versions, making it particularly dangerous as it impacts a wide user base. Organizations and individuals who rely on private browsing modes for sensitive activities such as financial transactions, healthcare research, or confidential communications face significant risk from this flaw. The vulnerability also demonstrates a failure in proper access control and context isolation within the browser's security model, which could potentially be leveraged for additional attacks targeting other browser components.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate application of Apple's security patches and updates to the affected Safari versions. Users should ensure their systems are updated to Safari 6.2.5, 7.1.5, or 8.0.5 respectively, which contain the necessary fixes for this privacy flaw. Network administrators should implement monitoring for suspicious push notification patterns and consider temporary disabling of push notification features for sensitive environments. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses improper information disclosure, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1566 for social engineering via push notifications. Organizations should conduct security assessments to verify proper patching and consider implementing additional browser security controls such as strict content security policies and enhanced notification permission controls. Regular security audits should be performed to identify similar context isolation issues in other browser components and ensure comprehensive protection against information disclosure vulnerabilities.