CVE-2018-4280 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue affected versions prior to iOS 11.4.1, macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, tvOS 11.4.1, watchOS 4.3.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/01/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-4280 represents a memory corruption flaw that was successfully mitigated through enhanced memory management protocols in Apple's operating systems. This issue specifically targeted devices running versions prior to the security updates mentioned in the advisory, affecting a broad range of Apple's ecosystem including mobile devices, desktop computers, and embedded systems. The flaw emerged within the kernel memory management subsystem, where improper handling of memory allocations and deallocations created conditions that could lead to arbitrary code execution or system instability. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous as they operate at the core level of system operations, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to sensitive system resources.
The technical nature of CVE-2018-4280 aligns with common memory corruption patterns classified under CWE-121, which deals with stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which addresses heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. These classifications reflect the fundamental issue where memory boundaries were not properly enforced during allocation operations, creating opportunities for malicious actors to manipulate memory contents. The vulnerability exploited weaknesses in how the operating system managed memory references, particularly when handling user-space processes that interacted with kernel memory regions. Attackers could potentially leverage this flaw to execute malicious code with elevated privileges, effectively bypassing standard security mechanisms and access controls that normally protect system integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended across multiple Apple platforms, affecting iOS devices, macOS systems, tvOS, and watchOS implementations. The widespread nature of the affected versions indicates that the flaw was present in core system components that were shared across different device categories, making the attack surface particularly expansive. Organizations and individuals using affected versions faced significant risks including potential data breaches, unauthorized system access, and complete system compromise. The vulnerability's presence in kernel-level memory management components meant that successful exploitation could result in persistent backdoors, making detection and remediation particularly challenging. Security researchers noted that the issue was particularly concerning because it could be triggered through legitimate system operations, making it difficult to distinguish between normal usage and malicious activity.
The remediation approach implemented by Apple focused on strengthening memory handling protocols and introducing additional validation checks within the kernel memory management subsystem. These updates included enhanced bounds checking mechanisms, improved memory allocation routines, and stricter enforcement of memory access controls. The security patches released as part of iOS 11.4.1, macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, tvOS 11.4.1, and watchOS 4.3.2 addressed the root cause by ensuring that all memory operations properly validated their boundaries and maintained proper isolation between different memory regions. Organizations should have prioritized deployment of these updates across all affected systems, particularly in enterprise environments where the risk of exploitation was significantly higher due to the interconnected nature of networked devices. The vulnerability's resolution demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and highlights the critical role of kernel-level memory management in overall system security posture, aligning with ATT&CK framework techniques that emphasize privilege escalation and kernel exploitation methods.