CVE-2018-4467 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2020
A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Mojave 10.14.3, Security Update 2019-001 High Sierra, Security Update 2019-001 Sierra, macOS Mojave 10.14.2, Security Update 2018-003 High Sierra, Security Update 2018-006 Sierra. A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/03/2023
This vulnerability represents a memory corruption flaw that emerged in Apple's macOS operating system, specifically affecting versions prior to the security updates mentioned in the advisory. The issue stems from inadequate state management within the system's memory handling mechanisms, creating a potential pathway for privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability was categorized as a memory corruption issue, which typically involves improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation processes that can lead to unpredictable system behavior and security breaches. The affected platforms include multiple versions of macOS including High Sierra and Sierra, indicating a widespread impact across Apple's operating system ecosystem.
The technical nature of this vulnerability allows a malicious application to exploit the memory corruption weakness and elevate its privileges to system level access. This privilege escalation capability represents a critical security risk as it enables attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially gain unauthorized administrative access to affected systems. The flaw likely involves improper validation of memory states during application execution, allowing crafted malicious code to manipulate system memory in ways that should not be permitted under normal operating conditions. Such vulnerabilities often relate to improper bounds checking, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that create opportunities for attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple system compromise, as it could enable attackers to establish persistent access to affected systems and potentially exfiltrate sensitive data or deploy additional malware. Attackers could leverage this privilege escalation capability to modify system files, install backdoors, or disable security mechanisms that protect against further exploitation. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of macOS, suggesting that organizations running these older operating system versions face significant risk and should prioritize updating to the patched releases. The issue's severity is underscored by Apple's inclusion of it in their security update releases, indicating that it represents a legitimate threat to system security and user data integrity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve applying the security updates released by Apple, specifically the macOS Mojave 10.14.3 update and the corresponding security updates for High Sierra and Sierra. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems receive the necessary updates promptly. Additionally, system administrators should monitor for any signs of exploitation attempts and maintain network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful attacks. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-122, which describes improper restriction of operations within a memory buffer, and may also relate to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation'. Security professionals should also consider implementing behavioral monitoring solutions to detect anomalous privilege escalation activities that could indicate exploitation attempts.