CVE-2019-7288 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2020
The issue was addressed with improved validation on the FaceTime server. This issue is fixed in macOS Mojave 10.14.3 Supplemental Update, iOS 12.1.4. A thorough security audit of the FaceTime service uncovered an issue with Live Photos .
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/27/2020
The vulnerability described in CVE-2019-7288 represents a significant security flaw in Apple's FaceTime service that could potentially allow unauthorized access to user data through manipulated photo content. This issue specifically affected the Live Photos functionality within FaceTime, where the system failed to properly validate incoming photo data before processing it. The vulnerability emerged from insufficient input validation mechanisms that permitted malformed or maliciously crafted photo content to be processed by the FaceTime server infrastructure. Security researchers identified that the FaceTime service did not adequately verify the integrity and format of Live Photos before accepting them into the system, creating a potential attack vector for malicious actors to exploit.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from a lack of proper data sanitization and validation within the FaceTime server-side processing pipeline. When users attempted to send Live Photos through FaceTime, the system would accept and process the photo data without sufficient verification of its legitimacy. This weakness allowed for potential code execution or data manipulation attacks that could compromise user privacy and system integrity. The vulnerability falls under the category of insufficient input validation, which is classified as CWE-20 by the Common Weakness Enumeration system. The issue particularly affected the Live Photos feature where the system's validation mechanisms were inadequate to prevent malicious content from being properly handled by the FaceTime service infrastructure.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-7288 extended beyond simple privacy concerns to potentially enable more serious security breaches through the exploitation of the Live Photos processing pipeline. Attackers could potentially craft malicious Live Photos that would trigger unexpected behavior in the FaceTime system, possibly leading to unauthorized access to user information or even system compromise. The vulnerability was particularly concerning because FaceTime is a widely used communication service that handles sensitive personal content, making it an attractive target for malicious actors seeking to exploit weaknesses in Apple's ecosystem. This type of vulnerability aligns with tactics documented in the ATT&CK framework under the category of privilege escalation and credential access, where attackers can leverage service weaknesses to gain unauthorized access to user data.
Apple's response to this vulnerability involved implementing enhanced validation mechanisms on the FaceTime server infrastructure, specifically targeting the Live Photos processing capabilities. The fix was included in the macOS Mojave 10.14.3 Supplemental Update and iOS 12.1.4 releases, demonstrating the company's commitment to addressing security flaws in their communication services. The security audit that uncovered this issue highlighted the importance of thorough validation processes in multimedia content handling systems, particularly those that process user-generated content like photos and videos. Organizations and users were advised to immediately update their systems to protect against potential exploitation of this vulnerability, as the attack surface was particularly broad given FaceTime's widespread adoption across Apple's ecosystem. The remediation approach focused on strengthening the input validation controls and implementing more robust sanitization procedures for all photo content processed through the FaceTime service.