CVE-2018-4355 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE
A configuration issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue affected versions prior to iOS 12, macOS Mojave 10.14.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-4355 represents a configuration flaw that existed in Apple's operating systems prior to the release of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave 10.14. This issue stems from insufficient restrictions within the system's security configuration, creating potential attack vectors that could be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-276, which addresses improper privileges and access control configurations, indicating that the flaw involved inadequate permission management or access restriction mechanisms. The affected systems were particularly susceptible because they lacked the enhanced security controls that were subsequently implemented in the newer versions of the operating systems.
The technical nature of this configuration issue involves the improper handling of system permissions or access controls that allowed unauthorized entities to potentially gain elevated privileges or access restricted system resources. This type of vulnerability typically manifests when system components fail to enforce proper access control policies or when default configurations do not adequately restrict system functionality. The flaw likely involved insufficient validation of user permissions or inadequate enforcement of security boundaries within the operating system's core components. Such configuration issues are particularly dangerous because they often operate at the foundational level of system security, affecting multiple subsystems and potentially enabling broader exploitation capabilities.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-4355 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks within affected environments. Systems running versions prior to iOS 12 and macOS Mojave 10.14 would have been vulnerable to attacks that could leverage the configuration flaw to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system functions or data. This vulnerability could have enabled threat actors to perform actions such as unauthorized file access, system modification, or privilege escalation that would normally be restricted. The impact would have been particularly severe in enterprise environments where these operating systems were widely deployed, potentially allowing attackers to compromise multiple devices simultaneously. From an attack perspective, this flaw would have mapped to multiple ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation, persistence, and defense evasion, making it a significant concern for security operations teams.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should have implemented immediate mitigation strategies including prompt deployment of the security updates released by Apple for iOS 12 and macOS Mojave 10.14. The remediation process involved upgrading affected systems to the patched versions that contained the additional restrictions necessary to address the configuration issue. Security administrators should have conducted comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running the vulnerable versions and prioritized their remediation based on risk exposure. The implementation of additional monitoring controls and access restriction policies would have helped detect potential exploitation attempts while the system upgrades were being deployed. Organizations should have also reviewed their existing security configurations to ensure that default settings were properly hardened and that unnecessary permissions were revoked from system components. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing robust configuration management processes to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.