CVE-2016-7587 in iCloud
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.2 is affected. Safari before 10.0.2 is affected. iCloud before 6.1 is affected. iTunes before 12.5.4 is affected. The issue involves the "WebKit" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted web site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7587 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's WebKit rendering engine that affected multiple Apple products including iOS versions prior to 10.2, Safari versions before 10.0.2, iCloud versions before 6.1, and iTunes versions before 12.5.4. This vulnerability resides in the WebKit component which serves as the core web browsing engine powering Safari and other Apple applications that render web content. The flaw manifests as a heap-based buffer overflow or memory corruption issue that occurs when processing maliciously crafted web content, allowing attackers to manipulate memory structures in ways that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient validation of input data can result in memory corruption. Attackers can exploit this weakness by hosting malicious websites that trigger specific code paths within the WebKit engine, causing memory corruption that can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple exploitation as it can also cause denial of service conditions, leading to application crashes and system instability that disrupt user experience and potentially provide attackers with additional attack vectors.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to Apple users as it enables remote code execution without requiring user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or compromised websites. The attack surface is extensive given that WebKit is used across multiple Apple platforms and applications, creating numerous potential entry points for adversaries. Security researchers have noted that the vulnerability's exploitation requires careful crafting of malicious web content that can trigger the specific memory corruption patterns within the WebKit engine, often involving complex JavaScript or HTML constructs that manipulate memory allocation and deallocation routines.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-7587 primarily involve updating affected Apple products to their patched versions, with Apple releasing iOS 10.2, Safari 10.0.2, iCloud 6.1, and iTunes 12.5.4 to address the vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems are updated promptly, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without user interaction. Network administrators should also consider implementing web filtering solutions and monitoring for suspicious web traffic that may indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under the T1059.007 technique, which involves the use of web shells and malicious code execution through web browsers, emphasizing the importance of browser security controls and regular security updates to prevent exploitation of such memory corruption vulnerabilities.