CVE-2016-7616 in watchOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.2 is affected. macOS before 10.12.2 is affected. watchOS before 3.1.3 is affected. The issue involves the "Disk Images" component. It allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted app.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7616 represents a critical security flaw within Apple's Disk Images component that affected multiple operating systems including iOS versions prior to 10.2, macOS versions before 10.12.2, and watchOS versions before 3.1.3. This vulnerability resides in the core disk image handling functionality that processes various file formats including dmg, iso, and other archive types that users might encounter when mounting or interacting with disk images. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the disk image parsing routines, creating a potential exploitation vector that could be leveraged by malicious actors to gain elevated privileges or disrupt system operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves memory corruption issues that occur when the Disk Images component processes specially crafted disk image files. Attackers can create malicious disk image files with malformed structures or oversized data segments that trigger buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors within the parsing code. These memory corruption issues can be exploited to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, effectively allowing attackers to bypass standard security restrictions and gain unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within a privileged execution context, meaning successful exploitation could provide attackers with complete system control without requiring additional authentication or user interaction.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7616 extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it creates multiple attack vectors through which malicious actors can compromise affected systems. When users mount or interact with specially crafted disk images, the vulnerability can be triggered automatically without requiring user confirmation, making it particularly insidious. The memory corruption aspects of this flaw can also lead to denial of service conditions where system processes crash or become unresponsive, effectively rendering the affected device unusable. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios, both of which are commonly exploited in kernel-level privilege escalation attacks. The attack surface is significantly broadened by the fact that disk images are commonly encountered in legitimate use cases, making user awareness and system protection more challenging.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily focus on immediate system updates and patch management procedures. Apple addressed this issue through the release of iOS 10.2, macOS 10.12.2, and watchOS 3.1.3 updates that contain fixes for the memory corruption issues in the Disk Images component. System administrators should prioritize deployment of these security patches across all affected devices, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple devices may be vulnerable. Additional protective measures include implementing strict file execution policies that prevent automatic mounting of untrusted disk images, configuring sandboxing mechanisms to limit the impact of potential exploitation, and establishing monitoring procedures to detect anomalous system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence, specifically T1068 for local privilege escalation and T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify attempts to deliver malicious disk image files through email attachments, web downloads, or other common attack vectors. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of secure coding practices in system-level components and highlights the critical need for regular security assessments of core operating system functionalities that handle user-provided data.