CVE-2018-18327 in Trend Micro
Summary
by MITRE
A KERedirect Untrusted Pointer Dereference Privilege Escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac (Consumer) 7.0 (2017) and above could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on vulnerable installations. The issue results from the lack of proper validation function on 0x6eDC offset user-supplied buffer. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2020
The vulnerability CVE-2018-18327 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac versions 7.0 and later, specifically affecting consumer installations. This issue resides in the KERedirect component which handles kernel-level operations, making it particularly dangerous as it operates at the system's most privileged level. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the kernel extension, creating a pathway for malicious code execution that can bypass normal security boundaries and elevate privileges from standard user level to administrative access.
The technical root cause manifests as an untrusted pointer dereference at a specific memory offset of 0x6eDC within the user-supplied buffer handling mechanism. This memory address offset represents a critical flaw in the kernel extension's validation logic where attacker-controlled data is processed without proper sanitization or bounds checking. The vulnerability classifies as a CWE-476 Null Pointer Dereference, though specifically manifests as an untrusted pointer dereference that allows arbitrary memory access patterns. The flaw occurs when the kernel extension accepts user-space buffer data and directly dereferences pointers without verifying their legitimacy or ensuring they point to valid memory regions, creating an opportunity for attackers to manipulate memory layout and execute code with elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally undermines the security model of macOS systems running affected Trend Micro versions. Attackers exploiting this flaw can gain root-level access to systems, potentially enabling data exfiltration, system persistence mechanisms, or further network reconnaissance activities. The requirement for initial low-privileged code execution creates a realistic attack scenario where an attacker might use social engineering, phishing, or other initial compromise techniques to establish a foothold before leveraging this privilege escalation vulnerability. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation', and T1543, covering 'Create or Modify System Process', as the exploitation process involves manipulating system processes at kernel level.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-18327 require immediate remediation through official Trend Micro patches and updates, as the vulnerability cannot be effectively addressed through configuration changes alone. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring for suspicious kernel extension activity and ensure that only trusted antivirus software operates with elevated privileges. The vulnerability highlights the importance of kernel-level input validation and proper memory management practices, emphasizing that all user-supplied data must undergo rigorous validation before being processed at privileged levels. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as kernel extension signing requirements and runtime application control to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in other security software components. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should include kernel extension analysis to identify potential pointer dereference issues and other memory corruption vulnerabilities that could enable privilege escalation attacks.