CVE-2017-13788 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11.1 is affected. Safari before 11.0.1 is affected. iCloud before 7.1 on Windows is affected. iTunes before 12.7.1 on Windows is affected. tvOS before 11.1 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 • 01/23/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-13788 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's WebKit rendering engine that affected multiple Apple platforms and applications. This vulnerability resides in the core web browsing component that powers Safari, iOS web views, and various other Apple applications that utilize WebKit for web content rendering. The flaw manifests as a heap-based buffer overflow or memory corruption issue that occurs when processing specially crafted web content, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through standard web browsing activities without any user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. These classifications indicate that the flaw involves improper handling of memory boundaries during web content processing, where the WebKit engine fails to properly validate input data from web pages. Attackers can craft malicious web pages containing specially formatted content that triggers the memory corruption when the browser attempts to render the page, leading to unpredictable behavior that can be leveraged for remote code execution. The vulnerability specifically impacts the memory management subsystem within WebKit, where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple Apple ecosystems including iOS devices, macOS systems, and Windows applications that utilize Apple's WebKit components. When exploited, the vulnerability can result in complete system compromise through arbitrary code execution, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to affected systems. Additionally, the flaw can cause denial of service conditions where legitimate applications crash or become unresponsive, disrupting normal user operations. The widespread nature of WebKit usage across Apple's product portfolio means that a single vulnerability can affect hundreds of millions of devices, making it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking large-scale exploitation opportunities.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is extensive, as it can be triggered through any web browsing activity on affected platforms. Users are at risk when visiting malicious websites, clicking on compromised links in emails, or even when visiting legitimate sites that have been compromised by attackers. The exploitability factor is high because the vulnerability can be delivered through standard web protocols without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond normal browsing. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation for client execution through web-based attacks. Organizations and individuals should immediately update to patched versions of affected software, as Apple released iOS 11.1, Safari 11.0.1, iCloud 7.1, iTunes 12.7.1, and tvOS 11.1 to address this vulnerability. The patch addresses the memory handling issues in WebKit by implementing proper bounds checking and memory validation procedures to prevent the exploitation scenarios that could lead to remote code execution or denial of service conditions.