CVE-2019-8848 in iTunes
Summary
by MITRE • 10/28/2020
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in tvOS 13.3, watchOS 6.1.1, iCloud for Windows 10.9, macOS Catalina 10.15.2, Security Update 2019-002 Mojave, and Security Update 2019-007 High Sierra, iOS 13.3 and iPadOS 13.3, iTunes 12.10.3 for Windows, iCloud for Windows 7.16. An application may be able to gain elevated privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2020
This vulnerability represents a privilege escalation issue that affected multiple Apple operating systems and applications, including tvOS, watchOS, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, iTunes, and iCloud for Windows. The flaw allowed malicious applications to potentially gain elevated privileges beyond their normal permissions, creating a significant security risk for affected systems. The vulnerability was addressed through enhanced validation checks implemented in the respective software updates. According to industry standards, this type of vulnerability maps to CWE-276, which describes improper privilege management, where applications fail to properly enforce access controls or privilege boundaries. The issue demonstrates how insufficient input validation and privilege checking mechanisms can create attack vectors for malicious actors to escalate their privileges within the operating system environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability likely involved a flaw in the system's privilege checking mechanisms or access control enforcement. Attackers could potentially exploit this weakness to elevate their application's privileges from standard user level to administrator or root level access. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can enable attackers to bypass the normal security boundaries that protect system integrity. The affected platforms span across Apple's ecosystem, indicating that the underlying flaw existed in shared components or system libraries that were common across multiple operating systems. The fix implemented by Apple involved strengthening the validation processes that occur during privilege checks, ensuring that applications cannot improperly escalate their access rights through malformed inputs or bypassed security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across Apple's entire product portfolio, affecting not only consumer devices but also enterprise deployments where iCloud and iTunes integration are common. Organizations using affected versions of macOS, iOS, or Windows applications could face potential compromise of their entire system if an attacker successfully exploited this privilege escalation flaw. The vulnerability particularly affects environments where users might run untrusted applications or where automatic updates are not properly managed. From an attack perspective, this flaw aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation, and represents a critical weakness in Apple's security model that could enable persistent access to systems. The widespread nature of the affected software versions indicates that this was likely a fundamental issue in Apple's privilege management system rather than a localized component vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate deployment of the security updates provided by Apple, including tvOS 13.3, watchOS 6.1.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.2, and the respective security updates for Mojave and High Sierra. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts and ensure that all systems are running patched versions. System administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and maintain strict control over application installation processes. The fix addresses the root cause by implementing more robust privilege validation checks, which aligns with security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-53 for access control and privilege management. Regular security auditing and patch management processes should be enhanced to prevent similar issues from arising in the future, particularly focusing on input validation and privilege boundary enforcement mechanisms across all system components.