CVE-2016-7589 in watchOS
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. watchOS before 3.1.3 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 • 11/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7589 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's WebKit rendering engine that affected multiple Apple operating systems and applications. This vulnerability resides in the core web browsing component that powers Safari, iCloud, iTunes, and watchOS applications across various iOS versions. The flaw manifests when WebKit processes maliciously crafted web content, creating a pathway for remote attackers to exploit the memory management mechanisms within these applications. The vulnerability specifically impacts iOS versions prior to 10.2, Safari versions before 10.0.2, iCloud versions before 6.1, iTunes versions before 12.5.4, and watchOS versions before 3.1.3, indicating a widespread exposure across Apple's ecosystem. The WebKit component serves as the foundation for web content rendering in Apple's products, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it affects the primary interface through which users interact with web-based content.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves memory corruption that occurs during the processing of malformed web content, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or application crashes. Attackers can craft malicious websites that, when loaded in affected Apple applications, trigger buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors within the WebKit engine. These memory corruption issues typically arise from insufficient input validation and bounds checking when parsing web content, allowing attackers to manipulate memory addresses and potentially execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected application. The vulnerability's exploitation requires no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous as it can be delivered through phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or malicious advertisements that automatically trigger the vulnerable code path. The memory corruption can manifest in various forms including heap corruption, stack corruption, or pointer manipulation that ultimately leads to application instability or complete system compromise.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7589 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to encompass full system compromise capabilities that could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable devices. When successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to affected systems, potentially leading to data theft, privacy violations, or further network penetration. The widespread nature of the affected products means that numerous entry points exist for attackers to exploit this vulnerability, including web browsing sessions, email attachments, or web-based applications that utilize Apple's WebKit rendering engine. The vulnerability's ability to cause application crashes also creates opportunities for persistent denial of service attacks, where attackers can repeatedly crash applications to disrupt normal operations. Given that these affected applications often handle sensitive personal data, the potential for data breaches increases significantly when this vulnerability is exploited, particularly in enterprise environments where Apple devices are commonly used for business operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-7589 primarily focus on immediate patch deployment and operational security measures to protect against exploitation. Apple released security updates for all affected versions, including iOS 10.2, Safari 10.0.2, iCloud 6.1, iTunes 12.5.4, and watchOS 3.1.3, which address the underlying memory corruption issues in the WebKit engine. Organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of these security patches across all affected Apple devices within their environment, particularly those handling sensitive data or serving as primary user interfaces for web-based applications. Network-based protections such as web filtering solutions and browser security extensions can provide additional layers of defense by blocking access to known malicious domains or content that may trigger the vulnerability. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual application crashes or memory usage patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts, while endpoint protection solutions should be configured to scan web content for potential malicious indicators. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) and CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) aligns with common attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework, specifically relating to technique T1059.007 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript) and T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) which highlight the importance of web-based attack surface management and browser security hardening measures.