CVE-2022-26690 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 05/26/2022
Description: A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.3. A malicious application may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition flaw in macOS Monterey that allows malicious applications to potentially modify protected file system components. The issue stems from insufficient validation mechanisms during file system operations, creating temporal windows where system protections can be circumvented. The race condition occurs when multiple processes or threads attempt to access the same file system resources simultaneously, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential privilege escalation scenarios. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they exploit the inherent timing complexities in operating system operations, making them difficult to detect and reproduce consistently. The flaw specifically affects the validation processes that should prevent unauthorized modifications to protected system areas, creating opportunities for attackers to gain elevated privileges or corrupt critical system files.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves timing-dependent operations where the system fails to properly synchronize access to protected file system elements. During the window between permission checks and actual file modifications, an attacker-controlled process can manipulate the system state to bypass security controls. This type of race condition falls under the CWE-362 category of "Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization" and represents a classic example of how temporal dependencies in system operations can create security weaknesses. The vulnerability demonstrates poor adherence to security by design principles, where the system architecture does not adequately account for concurrent access patterns that could lead to privilege escalation or data integrity violations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple file system corruption, as it enables malicious applications to potentially gain unauthorized access to system-protected areas that should remain inaccessible to regular user processes. Attackers could exploit this condition to modify system binaries, alter security configurations, or establish persistent access mechanisms within the operating system. The implications are particularly severe given that macOS Monterey 12.3 was the first version to address this issue, suggesting that earlier versions contained this vulnerability and could be exploited by attackers with sufficient knowledge of system timing behaviors. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.003 for executing malicious code and T1070.004 for bypassing system protections through race conditions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability center around applying the official security update to macOS Monterey 12.3, which implements additional validation checks to prevent the race condition from being exploited. System administrators should prioritize patching affected systems and monitor for any suspicious file system modifications that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions that can detect unusual patterns of concurrent file system access or unauthorized modifications to protected system areas. The fix addresses the root cause by strengthening synchronization mechanisms and ensuring that permission validation occurs before any actual file system modifications take place. Additional defensive measures include implementing robust access control policies, monitoring system integrity through hash verification, and maintaining up-to-date security configurations that limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities.