CVE-2017-2417 in tvOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.3 is affected. macOS before 10.12.4 is affected. tvOS before 10.2 is affected. watchOS before 3.2 is affected. The issue involves the "CoreGraphics" component. It allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) via a crafted image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2417 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Apple's CoreGraphics framework affecting multiple operating systems. This issue specifically targets the image processing capabilities of iOS versions prior to 10.3, macOS versions before 10.12.4, tvOS versions before 10.2, and watchOS versions before 3.2. The CoreGraphics component serves as a fundamental graphics rendering engine that handles image manipulation and display operations across Apple's ecosystem, making this vulnerability particularly concerning given its widespread impact across device categories.
The technical flaw manifests through a carefully crafted image file that triggers infinite recursion within the CoreGraphics processing pipeline. When the affected systems attempt to render or process this malicious image, the graphics framework enters an endless loop of recursive function calls that consume system resources without termination. This recursive behavior occurs at the kernel level within the graphics rendering subsystem, where image decoding routines fail to properly validate input parameters and handle malformed image data structures. The vulnerability falls under CWE-674, which specifically addresses Uncontrolled Recursion, a well-known weakness that can lead to system instability and resource exhaustion.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions, as it can render affected devices completely unresponsive or cause applications to crash repeatedly. Attackers can exploit this weakness remotely by delivering malicious image files through various channels including email attachments, web downloads, or malicious applications that utilize the CoreGraphics framework for image display. The infinite recursion consumes CPU cycles and memory resources at an exponential rate, potentially leading to complete system lockups or forced reboots. This type of attack aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers Network Denial of Service, as the vulnerability enables remote exploitation that can be triggered without user interaction.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-2417 primarily focus on applying the official security updates released by Apple, which include patches to the CoreGraphics framework that implement proper input validation and recursion depth limiting mechanisms. Organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of iOS 10.3, macOS 10.12.4, tvOS 10.2, and watchOS 3.2 updates across all affected devices. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing image filtering solutions that can detect and block suspicious image file types before they reach end-user devices. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in graphics processing libraries and highlights the need for proper recursion limits in system-level components that handle user-provided data. Security teams should also monitor for potential variants of this attack pattern and ensure that similar protections are implemented in other graphics rendering frameworks within their environments.