CVE-2018-4206 in watchOS
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11.3.1 is affected. macOS before 10.13.4 Security Update 2018-001 is affected. tvOS before 11.4 is affected. watchOS before 4.3.1 is affected. The issue involves the "Crash Reporter" component. It allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted app that replaces a privileged port name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-4206 represents a critical security flaw within Apple's operating systems affecting multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. This issue resides within the Crash Reporter component, which serves as a crucial system mechanism for collecting crash information from applications and the operating system itself. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of privileged port names during the crash reporting process, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's privilege management mechanisms. The affected versions demonstrate a fundamental weakness in how the system validates and processes port name replacements, particularly when these operations involve privileged system components that should only be accessible through proper authorization channels.
Technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a crafted malicious application that attempts to replace a privileged port name within the system's Mach kernel messaging infrastructure. The Crash Reporter component, which operates with elevated privileges to gather crash information from system processes, fails to properly validate whether the requesting application has legitimate authorization to modify these privileged port names. This memory corruption vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate the system's port name space, potentially gaining unauthorized access to system resources and executing arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The flaw specifically targets the system's ability to maintain proper privilege separation between user applications and system-critical components, effectively creating a bypass mechanism for privilege escalation attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it can lead to complete system compromise when exploited successfully. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can execute arbitrary code with system-level privileges, potentially allowing them to install malicious software, modify system files, access sensitive user data, or establish persistent backdoors within the affected devices. The denial of service aspect of this vulnerability means that even unsuccessful exploitation attempts could crash the system or render critical components unavailable, effectively disabling the affected device. Given that this vulnerability affects multiple Apple platforms including mobile devices, desktop computers, and television systems, the potential attack surface is extensive, making this a particularly concerning security flaw for Apple users across various device types.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-4206 require immediate system updates to the patched versions of affected operating systems. Apple released Security Update 2018-001 for macOS 10.13.4 and corresponding updates for iOS 11.3.1, tvOS 11.4, and watchOS 4.3.1 to address this vulnerability. Organizations and individuals should prioritize updating their systems to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability does not require user interaction to be exploited. Additionally, system administrators should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider deploying application whitelisting policies to prevent malicious applications from running on affected systems. From a security architecture perspective, this vulnerability highlights the importance of proper privilege validation and the need for robust input sanitization in system components that handle privileged operations. The flaw aligns with CWE-264, which addresses permissions, privileges, and access controls, and represents a significant concern in the context of the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation techniques where adversaries attempt to gain higher-level permissions to access system resources and data.