CVE-2018-4287 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple memory corruption issues were addressed with improved memory handling. This issue affected versions prior to macOS High Sierra 10.13.6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-4287 represents a series of memory corruption issues that existed in Apple's macOS operating system prior to the release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.6. These memory corruption flaws stem from inadequate memory management practices within the system's kernel and user-space components, creating potential attack vectors for malicious actors to exploit system stability and security. The issue specifically affected systems running macOS versions earlier than 10.13.6, indicating that Apple had not yet implemented the necessary safeguards to prevent these memory handling vulnerabilities from being exploited in the wild.
The technical nature of these memory corruption flaws falls under the category of improper memory handling, which is classified as CWE-122 in the Common Weakness Enumeration system. These vulnerabilities typically manifest when applications or system components fail to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation, leading to situations where memory can be overwritten, accessed beyond its allocated bounds, or improperly freed. The root cause likely involves buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that allow attackers to manipulate memory contents in unintended ways. Such flaws can occur in various system components including kernel extensions, system daemons, or core framework libraries that handle memory operations for the operating system.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-4287 extends beyond simple system instability, as memory corruption vulnerabilities can potentially enable privilege escalation attacks, remote code execution, or denial of service conditions. Attackers who successfully exploit these flaws could gain elevated privileges within the system, allowing them to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level access or manipulate system resources in ways that compromise overall system integrity. The vulnerability's presence in pre-10.13.6 versions suggests that these memory handling issues were significant enough to warrant immediate attention, as they could have been leveraged to bypass security controls and establish persistent access to affected systems. Organizations running older macOS versions were particularly vulnerable to these attacks, as the memory corruption issues created multiple potential entry points for malicious actors.
Apple's resolution of this vulnerability through the macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 update demonstrates the company's commitment to addressing memory management issues that could compromise system security. The fix involved implementing improved memory handling practices throughout the operating system, which aligns with the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for memory corruption attacks. Organizations should prioritize updating to macOS 10.13.6 or later versions to protect against exploitation of these memory corruption flaws, as the update addresses the underlying memory management issues that could allow attackers to manipulate system memory. Additionally, system administrators should monitor for any signs of exploitation attempts and consider implementing additional security controls such as kernel extension restrictions, memory protection mechanisms, and regular security audits to further reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining current system patches and following security best practices to protect against memory-based attacks that continue to be a significant threat vector in modern computing environments.