CVE-2017-7092 in tvOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11 is affected. Safari before 11 is affected. iCloud before 7.0 on Windows is affected. iTunes before 12.7 on Windows is affected. tvOS before 11 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 • 01/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7092 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Apple's WebKit rendering engine that affected multiple Apple operating systems and applications. This vulnerability resides in the core web browsing component that powers Safari, iCloud, iTunes, and tvOS interfaces across various platforms, making it particularly dangerous due to its widespread impact. The flaw specifically manifests in iOS versions prior to 11, Safari versions before 11, iCloud versions before 7.0 on Windows, iTunes versions before 12.7 on Windows, and tvOS versions before 11, indicating a systemic issue within the WebKit framework that required immediate attention from Apple's security team.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory handling within the WebKit component that processes web content, allowing malicious actors to craft specially designed websites that can trigger memory corruption conditions. When users visit these malicious sites, the WebKit engine fails to properly validate or sanitize incoming data structures, leading to buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code on the target system. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation for execution through web-based attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-7092 extends far beyond simple application crashes, as it provides attackers with the capability to achieve remote code execution on vulnerable systems. This means that a user visiting a malicious website could unknowingly have their device compromised without any interaction beyond normal web browsing activities. The vulnerability's potential for causing denial of service through memory corruption is particularly concerning given that WebKit is integral to how Apple devices handle web content, making every web browsing session a potential attack vector. The memory corruption issues could lead to system instability, application crashes, or more severely, complete system compromise, depending on the exploitation method employed by threat actors.
Apple's response to this vulnerability involved releasing security updates for all affected platforms, requiring users to upgrade to iOS 11, Safari 11, iCloud 7.0, iTunes 12.7, and tvOS 11 to mitigate the risk. The remediation process highlights the importance of keeping software updated, particularly for core components like WebKit that handle untrusted input from web sources. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability demonstrates the critical nature of browser engine security and the potential for remote code execution in widely used software components. Organizations should implement robust patch management policies and consider network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability's nature makes it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise Apple device users through web-based attacks. The incident also underscores the necessity of regular security assessments for web rendering engines, which continue to be prime targets for attackers due to their exposure to untrusted content from the internet.