CVE-2017-2460 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 • 02/21/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-2460 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 rendering component that processes and displays web content across Apple's ecosystem, making it a prime target for remote exploitation. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within WebKit's handling of crafted web content which creates opportunities for malicious actors to manipulate memory structures and execute unauthorized code on affected devices.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125 which describes out-of-bounds read conditions and CWE-787 which covers out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. Attackers can exploit this weakness by hosting malicious web content on compromised servers or through social engineering tactics that lure users to visit specifically crafted websites. The memory corruption occurs during the processing of web elements such as JavaScript objects or DOM manipulations where the WebKit engine fails to properly validate memory boundaries before performing operations. This allows remote attackers to overwrite memory locations with malicious data or trigger application crashes that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-2460 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios as it provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary code remotely without user interaction. This makes it particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios where adversaries can deploy malware or backdoors directly on iOS devices simply by hosting malicious content on web servers. The vulnerability affects not only individual users but also enterprise environments where Apple devices are commonly used for business operations, potentially allowing attackers to access sensitive corporate data or establish persistent access points. The broad scope of affected products including mobile devices and television operating systems creates multiple attack vectors for threat actors to exploit.
From a threat modeling perspective this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1059 for command and control execution and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. Organizations should implement immediate patch management protocols to upgrade affected systems to versions that contain WebKit memory safety fixes. Network-based mitigations such as web content filtering and sandboxing mechanisms can provide additional protection layers while users should avoid visiting untrusted websites and maintain updated security software. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular security updates and the critical need for robust memory safety practices in web rendering engines. Apple's subsequent release of iOS 10.3 and related security updates addressed this flaw through improved memory validation and bounds checking mechanisms within the WebKit component, reinforcing the necessity of proactive security maintenance across all operating system components.