CVE-2017-2454 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 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 • 03/19/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2454 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 prior to 10.1, and tvOS versions prior to 10.2. This vulnerability resides within the core web browser component responsible for processing and rendering web content, making it a prime target for remote exploitation by malicious actors. The flaw specifically manifests as a memory corruption issue that can be triggered through carefully crafted web content, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems or cause application crashes that result in denial of service conditions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within WebKit's handling of web content, particularly when processing malformed or maliciously constructed web pages. Attackers can leverage this weakness by hosting specially crafted websites that, when loaded in the affected browsers, trigger memory corruption conditions that can be exploited to gain unauthorized code execution capabilities. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 vulnerability category, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions where an attacker can access memory locations outside the intended boundaries of allocated buffers. The exploitation mechanism typically involves memory corruption that can be leveraged to overwrite critical program memory locations, potentially enabling privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-2454 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios as the vulnerability provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary code remotely, effectively compromising the entire affected system. This represents a significant threat to user security since the attack vector requires no local privileges or user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or compromised website attacks. The vulnerability can be classified under the ATT&CK framework's technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript" as it exploits JavaScript execution capabilities within the browser environment. Additionally, the vulnerability's nature aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 for "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" when the memory corruption leads to elevated privileges, and T1190 for "Exploit Public-Facing Application" as it targets publicly accessible web browsers.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate software updates to the patched versions of affected Apple operating systems and browsers. Users should prioritize updating to iOS 10.3, Safari 10.1, and tvOS 10.2 or later versions that contain the necessary security patches. Network administrators should implement web content filtering solutions to block access to known malicious domains and deploy endpoint protection solutions that can detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of keeping all browser components updated, as WebKit vulnerabilities often indicate broader security concerns within the browser ecosystem. Organizations should conduct vulnerability assessments to identify systems running affected versions and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in the future.