CVE-2016-1716 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
AppleGraphicsPowerManagement in Apple OS X before 10.11.3 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1716 resides within AppleGraphicsPowerManagement, a critical component of Apple's operating system that manages graphics hardware power states and configurations. This flaw affects Apple OS X versions prior to 10.11.3, representing a significant security weakness that could be exploited by local attackers to escalate privileges or disrupt system operations. The vulnerability's classification as a local privilege escalation issue indicates that an attacker with legitimate user access could potentially leverage this flaw to execute code with elevated privileges, thereby compromising system integrity and confidentiality.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves unspecified vectors that lead to memory corruption within the graphics power management subsystem. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically arise from improper handling of memory allocation, deallocation, or access patterns that can result in arbitrary code execution or system crashes. In the context of graphics power management, this could involve improper handling of power state transitions, hardware configuration changes, or resource management operations that interact with kernel-level components. The vulnerability's presence in a graphics management module suggests that the flaw might be triggered through legitimate graphics operations or system interactions that manipulate power states, potentially through applications that utilize graphics APIs or system utilities that interface with hardware power controls.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1716 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential denial of service conditions that could render systems unstable or unresponsive. Local attackers could exploit this vulnerability to cause system crashes, memory corruption, or other forms of system instability that would affect normal operations. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to enterprise environments where local access might be more readily available than anticipated, potentially allowing attackers to establish persistent access or escalate their privileges to gain administrative control over affected systems. The vulnerability's exploitation could enable attackers to bypass standard security controls and access sensitive system resources or data that would normally be protected by user access controls.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate deployment of Apple's security updates, specifically OS X 10.11.3 or later versions that contain patches addressing the memory corruption issues in AppleGraphicsPowerManagement. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management processes to ensure all affected systems receive the necessary updates promptly. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual system behavior or memory access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and potentially CWE-122, which addresses buffer overflow conditions in heap-based memory. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and could be leveraged in conjunction with other attack vectors to achieve persistent access or data exfiltration. Organizations should also consider implementing least privilege principles and restricting local user access to minimize potential exploitation risks, while maintaining regular security assessments to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in graphics and hardware management components.