CVE-2017-7125 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.13 is affected. The issue involves the third-party "file" product. Versions before 5.30 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/30/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-7125 represents a critical security flaw within Apple's macOS ecosystem that specifically impacts systems running versions prior to 10.13. This weakness stems from the third-party "file" utility, which is commonly integrated into macOS environments and serves as a fundamental tool for identifying file types and characteristics. The issue manifests through improper handling of crafted input data that can be delivered through various network or file-based attack vectors, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise and user environments where such utilities are routinely employed for system administration and file management tasks.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies within the file command's insufficient validation mechanisms when processing specially crafted file headers or metadata. This flaw creates a condition where an attacker can manipulate input parameters to trigger memory corruption or buffer overflow conditions within the file utility's processing pipeline. The vulnerability maps to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read errors that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause the file utility to crash unexpectedly, leading to a denial of service condition that affects the entire system's file identification capabilities and potentially other dependent services that rely on this functionality.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-7125 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the vulnerability could potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the execution environment and system configuration. Attackers could leverage this weakness to disrupt critical system operations, particularly in environments where automated file processing or security scanning tools depend on the file utility for threat detection and classification. The vulnerability's exploitation could be particularly damaging in enterprise settings where file-based security tools are extensively used for malware detection, system integrity verification, and compliance monitoring. According to ATT&CK framework category T1059, this vulnerability could be used to establish persistence or escalate privileges through command injection techniques that exploit the compromised file utility.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-7125 should prioritize immediate system updates to macOS 10.13 or later versions where Apple has implemented comprehensive patches addressing the underlying buffer overflow conditions. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of systems running vulnerable versions, particularly in environments where the file utility is frequently used for automated processing. Security administrators should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected software versions and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of untrusted file utilities and maintaining updated intrusion detection systems can provide additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts targeting this specific vulnerability. The patching process should include verification procedures to ensure complete remediation and prevent potential bypasses or incomplete updates that could leave systems vulnerable to continued exploitation attempts.