CVE-2016-1818 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
IOAcceleratorFamily in Apple iOS before 9.3.2, OS X before 10.11.5, tvOS before 9.2.1, and watchOS before 2.2.1 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted app, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1817 and CVE-2016-1819.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1818 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the IOAcceleratorFamily component of Apple's operating systems. This issue affects multiple platforms including iOS versions prior to 9.3.2, macOS versions before 10.11.5, tvOS versions before 9.2.1, and watchOS versions before 2.2.1. The IOAcceleratorFamily serves as a crucial kernel extension responsible for hardware acceleration capabilities, particularly for graphics and compute operations on Apple devices. The vulnerability arises from improper input validation and memory management within this privileged system component, creating a potential attack surface that could be exploited by malicious applications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking and memory handling mechanisms within the IOAcceleratorFamily kernel extension. Attackers can craft specially designed applications that trigger memory corruption when the vulnerable system processes specific hardware acceleration requests. This memory corruption can manifest in various ways including heap corruption, stack overflow conditions, or use-after-free scenarios that ultimately allow for privilege escalation. The flaw operates at the kernel level, meaning successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code with the highest system privileges, effectively bypassing standard security boundaries and access controls that normally protect user applications from direct system manipulation.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential system compromise and denial of service conditions. The memory corruption can lead to system crashes, application instability, or complete system hangs that render devices unusable. In a more severe scenario, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain persistent access to affected systems, potentially enabling long-term surveillance, data exfiltration, or further exploitation of other system components. The vulnerability's presence across multiple Apple platforms including mobile devices, desktop operating systems, and embedded systems creates a broad attack surface that increases the likelihood of successful exploitation in various environments.
The security implications of CVE-2016-1818 align with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. These classifications reflect the fundamental memory safety issues that enable the privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution capabilities. The vulnerability also maps to several ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation through kernel exploits and persistence mechanisms that could be established through successful exploitation. Organizations and users must recognize that this vulnerability represents a critical security gap that could be exploited by sophisticated threat actors to gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data. The interconnected nature of Apple's ecosystem means that exploitation on one platform could potentially lead to broader compromise across connected devices.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1818 primarily focus on immediate patch deployment and system updates as provided by Apple through their security updates. System administrators should prioritize updating all affected platforms to their respective patched versions, ensuring that the IOAcceleratorFamily component receives the necessary security fixes. Additional protective measures include implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of untrusted applications, monitoring system logs for unusual activity patterns, and maintaining robust backup and recovery procedures. Network-level protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help identify and block exploitation attempts, while endpoint protection solutions should be configured to detect and prevent execution of malicious code targeting this vulnerability. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and ensure that all affected systems have been properly updated and verified.