CVE-2017-2462 in tvOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 10.3 is affected. macOS before 10.12.4 is affected. tvOS before 10.2 is affected. watchOS before 3.2 is affected. The issue involves the "Audio" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted audio file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/21/2022
This vulnerability resides within Apple's audio processing subsystem affecting multiple operating systems including iOS versions prior to 10.3, macOS versions before 10.12.4, tvOS before 10.2, and watchOS before 3.2. The flaw exists in how the system handles audio file parsing and processing, creating a potential pathway for malicious actors to compromise affected devices. The vulnerability represents a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs when the audio component fails to properly validate the structure and size of crafted audio files before processing them. This memory corruption issue stems from inadequate input sanitization within the audio decoding pipeline, where attackers can construct malicious audio files that trigger unexpected behavior in the system's memory management. The vulnerability falls under CWE-121, which describes buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. From an operational perspective, this flaw presents a significant risk as it enables remote code execution capabilities, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized control over affected devices without physical access. The potential for denial of service attacks through application crashes also poses a serious threat to device availability and user experience. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by delivering malicious audio files through various channels including email attachments, web downloads, or malicious applications that play audio content. The attack surface is particularly broad given that audio files are commonly encountered in daily usage scenarios across all affected Apple platforms. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple code execution to include system stability issues that could lead to complete device compromise. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for process injection and T1489 for denial of service, as attackers can leverage the memory corruption to inject malicious code or cause system instability. The affected audio processing component typically handles various formats including mp3, aac, and wav files, making the exploitation vector highly versatile. Security researchers have identified that the issue occurs during the parsing of specific metadata fields within audio files, where malformed data triggers the buffer overflow condition. The vulnerability demonstrates a critical weakness in Apple's input validation mechanisms and highlights the importance of robust memory safety practices in multimedia processing components. Organizations should prioritize patching affected systems immediately to mitigate the risk of exploitation, as the vulnerability remains active in unpatched versions of the operating systems. The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal user interaction, as simply playing a malicious audio file could trigger the exploit, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users frequently encounter audio content from untrusted sources.