CVE-2017-2455 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 • 03/09/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2455 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 that processes and renders web content, making it a prime target for remote exploitation. The flaw manifests through improper memory management during web page processing, specifically when handling crafted web content that triggers unexpected behavior in the WebKit engine's memory allocation and deallocation mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts malicious web content that, when loaded in a vulnerable browser, causes memory corruption that can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code on the target system. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and potentially arbitrary code execution. Attackers can leverage this flaw by hosting malicious web pages that, when accessed through vulnerable browsers, trigger the memory corruption through specific JavaScript or HTML constructs that exploit the underlying WebKit memory handling routines.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-2455 extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially enable full system compromise. When successfully exploited, the memory corruption can allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the compromised browser process, which typically runs with the same privileges as the user. This could lead to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation on affected devices. The vulnerability's remote nature means attackers can exploit it without requiring physical access to the target device, making it particularly dangerous in mobile environments where users frequently browse untrusted websites.
From a threat landscape perspective, this vulnerability follows patterns commonly associated with the attack technique described in MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1059.007 for command and script injection, where attackers leverage browser-based exploitation to establish malicious code execution. The flaw represents a classic buffer overflow or memory corruption vulnerability that can be exploited through web-based attack vectors, aligning with the broader category of browser-based exploits that have historically been among the most prevalent attack methods against mobile and desktop systems. Organizations should note that this vulnerability was patched in Apple's security updates released as part of iOS 10.3, Safari 10.1, and tvOS 10.2, emphasizing the importance of timely security patch management for maintaining system integrity.
The remediation approach for CVE-2017-2455 requires immediate deployment of Apple's security patches across all affected systems. System administrators should prioritize updating iOS devices to version 10.3 or later, Safari browsers to version 10.1 or later, and tvOS to version 10.2 or later. Additionally, network administrators should implement web filtering solutions to block access to known malicious domains and consider deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue also necessitates regular system monitoring for unusual memory usage patterns and application behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also conduct security awareness training to educate users about avoiding suspicious web content and maintaining updated software versions to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.