CVE-2017-13813 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.13.1 is affected. The issue involves the "libarchive" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) via a crafted archive file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-13813 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the libarchive component of Apple's macOS operating system. This issue affects macOS versions prior to 10.13.1 and demonstrates how archive processing libraries can serve as attack vectors for remote code execution. The libarchive library is widely used for handling various archive formats including tar, zip, and others, making it a fundamental component in macOS system operations and user workflows.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient bounds checking within the libarchive library's handling of malformed archive files. When a maliciously crafted archive file is processed by applications that rely on libarchive, the buffer overflow condition occurs during decompression or extraction operations. This vulnerability operates at the memory management level where the library fails to properly validate the size of data structures before copying data into fixed-size buffers. The flaw aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios that can occur during dynamic memory allocation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to encompass full remote code execution capabilities. Attackers can craft archive files that, when opened by affected macOS applications, trigger the buffer overflow and potentially allow arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the affected process. This creates a significant risk for users who frequently handle downloaded files or interact with untrusted archive content. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, and file sharing platforms where archive files are commonly distributed.
Applications that utilize libarchive for archive processing are particularly vulnerable, including system utilities, file managers, and third-party applications that handle compressed files. The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that many users regularly interact with archive files without considering their potential malicious nature. Security researchers have noted that the vulnerability can be triggered through seemingly benign file operations such as double-clicking a zip file or extracting contents from a tar archive. This makes the attack surface particularly broad and increases the likelihood of successful exploitation in real-world scenarios.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-13813 require immediate system updates to macOS 10.13.1 or later versions where Apple has implemented proper bounds checking and memory management improvements. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as sandboxing applications that process archive files, network-based filtering of suspicious archive content, and user education regarding safe file handling practices. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and highlights how seemingly routine operations like file extraction can represent significant security risks. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in their threat modeling activities and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place to address similar issues in other software libraries that may be susceptible to similar buffer overflow conditions.