CVE-2017-2431 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.12.4 is affected. The issue involves the "CoreMedia" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted .mov file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2431 represents a critical security flaw within Apple's CoreMedia framework that impacted macOS versions prior to 10.12.4. This vulnerability resides in the media processing component responsible for handling various multimedia file formats including the widely used .mov container format. The CoreMedia framework serves as a fundamental building block for media playback and processing across Apple's ecosystem, making this flaw particularly concerning given its potential to affect numerous applications and services that rely on media handling capabilities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the CoreMedia component when processing maliciously crafted .mov files. Attackers can exploit this weakness by creating specially constructed movie files that trigger memory corruption issues during the parsing and decoding process. The flaw manifests as a buffer overflow or memory management error that occurs when the system attempts to parse malformed media headers or metadata within the .mov container. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of Stack-based Buffer Overflow, where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The exploitation mechanism leverages the automatic media processing capabilities that applications and system services employ when handling user-supplied media content.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-2431 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to encompass full remote code execution capabilities. When a vulnerable system processes a crafted .mov file, the memory corruption can be leveraged to inject malicious code into the executing process, potentially allowing attackers to gain arbitrary code execution privileges. This vulnerability affects not only user applications but also system-level services that handle media processing, creating a broad attack surface. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means attackers can deliver malicious payloads through email attachments, web downloads, or other means without requiring physical access to the target system. The potential for application crashes and system instability also creates denial of service conditions that can disrupt normal operations and compromise system availability.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary code through media file processing. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe in enterprise environments where users may encounter malicious media files through phishing campaigns or compromised web content. Organizations using older macOS versions remain at risk, as the vulnerability affects the underlying system framework rather than specific applications, making it difficult to isolate and remediate through application-level patches alone. The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date system software and implementing proper media file validation mechanisms.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-2431 primarily focus on immediate system updates to macOS 10.12.4 or later versions where Apple has implemented proper input validation and memory safety mechanisms within the CoreMedia framework. Security administrators should also implement network-based controls to filter and scan media files before they reach end-user systems, particularly in environments where users may encounter untrusted content. Additional protective measures include disabling automatic media preview features in web browsers and email clients, implementing sandboxing policies for media processing applications, and conducting regular security assessments to identify systems running vulnerable macOS versions. The vulnerability highlights the necessity of maintaining comprehensive patch management programs and demonstrates how seemingly innocuous media processing components can serve as attack vectors for sophisticated exploitation techniques.