CVE-2017-2447 in tvOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.3 is affected. Safari before 10.1 is affected. tvOS before 10.2 is affected. The issue involves the "WebKit" component. It allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2447 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's WebKit rendering engine that affected multiple Apple operating systems including iOS versions prior to 10.3 Safari versions before 10.1 and tvOS versions before 10.2. This vulnerability resides in the core web browsing component responsible for processing and rendering web content across Apple's ecosystem. The flaw manifests as a memory corruption issue that can be exploited through maliciously crafted web pages delivered over the internet, making it particularly dangerous for users who browse the web regularly. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond individual device compromise as it affects the fundamental security architecture of Apple's web browsing capabilities across various platforms.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues which are typically classified as CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow) or similar memory safety violations within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. Attackers can leverage this flaw by hosting malicious web content that, when loaded in Safari or other WebKit-based browsers, triggers memory corruption conditions that can lead to information disclosure or system instability. The exploitation mechanism likely involves manipulating memory allocation patterns or buffer handling within the WebKit engine's JavaScript engine or rendering components. This type of vulnerability represents a classic example of how memory safety issues in browser engines can be weaponized to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or cause system crashes that may be exploited for more advanced attacks.
From an operational security perspective this vulnerability poses significant risks to Apple users as it enables remote code execution capabilities through web-based attacks without requiring any user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website. The attack surface is particularly broad given that WebKit is the foundation for Safari browser functionality and is used across multiple Apple platforms. The potential for information disclosure means that attackers could potentially access sensitive data stored in memory including user credentials, personal information, or session tokens. Additionally the denial of service component of this vulnerability could be used to disrupt normal system operations or create persistent availability issues for affected devices. The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 (Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript) as attackers could leverage JavaScript execution contexts to trigger the memory corruption conditions.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-2447 primarily involve updating affected Apple products to their patched versions including iOS 10.3 Safari 10.1 and tvOS 10.2. Apple released security updates that addressed the memory corruption issues within the WebKit engine through improved memory management and input validation mechanisms. Organizations and individuals should prioritize immediate patch deployment to protect against exploitation attempts. Network administrators should consider implementing web filtering solutions and monitoring for suspicious web traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and demonstrates how browser-based vulnerabilities can serve as initial access vectors for more sophisticated attacks within enterprise environments. Security teams should also implement monitoring for unusual memory usage patterns or system instability that might indicate exploitation attempts.