CVE-2016-1798 in Mac OS X
Summary
by MITRE
Audio in Apple OS X before 10.11.5 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via a crafted app.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1798 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Apple's macOS operating system affecting versions prior to 10.11.5. This issue specifically impacts the audio subsystem and demonstrates how seemingly benign application execution can lead to system instability. The flaw manifests when a specially crafted application attempts to interact with the audio framework, triggering a NULL pointer dereference that results in system crash or complete denial of service. This vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation where the system fails to properly handle malformed audio data structures, leading to unexpected system termination. The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-476 which describes NULL pointer dereference conditions that can lead to application crashes and system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system disruption as it provides attackers with a reliable method to induce denial of service conditions on targeted macOS systems. An attacker could potentially exploit this weakness by distributing malicious applications that, when executed, cause the audio subsystem to crash and terminate. This could affect both individual users and enterprise environments where audio functionality is critical for productivity applications, multimedia services, or communication tools. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require elevated privileges, making it particularly concerning as any user could potentially trigger the condition. From an attack chain perspective, this vulnerability could serve as a preliminary step in more complex attack scenarios where initial system instability creates opportunities for further exploitation.
Organizations and users should prioritize immediate remediation by updating to macOS 10.11.5 or later versions which contain the necessary patches to address this NULL pointer dereference issue. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all macOS systems receive the security updates promptly. Additionally, network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual patterns of system crashes or audio-related service disruptions that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service provides guidance for threat detection and response activities. Security teams should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of untrusted applications, particularly those that interact with system audio frameworks. Regular security assessments should include verification of system audio components to ensure proper handling of malformed input data structures and prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in the future.