CVE-2017-7119 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.13 is affected. The issue involves the "IOFireWireFamily" component. It allows attackers to bypass intended memory-read restrictions via a crafted app.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7119 represents a critical security flaw within Apple's macOS operating system affecting versions prior to 10.13. This weakness resides within the IOKit framework's IOFireWireFamily component which manages FireWire hardware interfaces and their associated memory management operations. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of memory access permissions when processing FireWire device communications, creating an avenue for malicious applications to circumvent the kernel's memory protection mechanisms that normally restrict unauthorized memory reads.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits a privilege escalation vector through which a malicious application can manipulate the FireWire subsystem to access memory regions that should otherwise be protected from user-space processes. This occurs due to inadequate bounds checking and memory access control enforcement within the IOFireWireFamily driver, allowing crafted applications to perform unauthorized memory reads across kernel memory space boundaries. The vulnerability specifically targets the interaction between user-space applications and the kernel's FireWire I/O services, where proper access controls fail to validate the legitimacy of memory access requests.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it enables attackers to extract sensitive kernel memory contents including cryptographic keys, passwords, and other confidential data stored in protected memory regions. This represents a significant compromise of the system's security model since FireWire interfaces are typically considered trusted pathways for high-speed data transfer and device communication. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to bypass the kernel's memory protection mechanisms and potentially escalate privileges to gain full system control, making it particularly dangerous for environments where FireWire interfaces are accessible to untrusted users.
The security implications align with CWE-284 Access Control Issues and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1068, Privilege Escalation through exploitation of kernel vulnerabilities. Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including updating to macOS 10.13 or later versions where the vulnerability has been patched, disabling FireWire interfaces when not required, and implementing additional network segmentation controls to limit potential attack vectors. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date system components and the inherent risks associated with legacy hardware interfaces that may contain unpatched security flaws in modern operating systems.