Apple Mac OS X up to 10.4.6 on Intel Firmware Password improper authentication

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Apple Mac OS X up to 10.4.6 on Intel. This affects an unknown part of the component Firmware Password Handler. This manipulation causes improper authentication. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2006-0401. The attack needs to be launched locally. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Apple Mac OS X up to 10.4.6 on Intel (Operating System). Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown code of the component Firmware Password Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a improper authentication vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-287. When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, and integrity. The summary by CVE is:

Unspecified vulnerability in Mac OS X before 10.4.6, when running on an Intel-based computer, allows attackers with physical access to bypass the firmware password and log on in Single User Mode via unspecified vectors.

The bug was discovered 04/03/2006. The weakness was published 04/04/2006 by David Pugh with University of Michigan (Website). The advisory is shared at docs.info.apple.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2006-0401 since 01/24/2006. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available.

It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 21175 (Mac OS X 10.4.x < 10.4.6 Firmware Unspecified Password Bypass), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family MacOS X Local Security Checks and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 115350 (Apple Mac OS X 10.4.6 Not Installed (APPLE-SA-2006-04-03)).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at apple.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version. A possible mitigation has been published before and not just after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (25620), Tenable (21175), SecurityFocus (BID 17364†), OSVDB (24399†) and Secunia (SA19462†). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Support

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Improper authentication
CWE: CWE-287
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Proof-of-Concept

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Nessus ID: 21175
Nessus Name: Mac OS X 10.4.x < 10.4.6 Firmware Unspecified Password Bypass
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Patch: apple.com

Timelineinfo

01/24/2006 🔍
04/03/2006 +69 days 🔍
04/03/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/03/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/03/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/03/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/03/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/04/2006 +1 days 🔍
04/04/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/04/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/04/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/05/2006 +0 days 🔍
04/09/2006 +4 days 🔍
06/23/2025 +7015 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: docs.info.apple.com⛔
Researcher: David Pugh
Organization: University of Michigan
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2006-0401 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2006-0401
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-2125
X-Force: 25620 - Apple Mac OS X firmware password bypass, Medium Risk
SecurityFocus: 17364 - Apple Mac OS X Intel-Based Local Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Secunia: 19462 - Mac OS X Firmware Password Bypass Vulnerability, Less Critical
OSVDB: 24399 - Apple Mac OS X Firmware Unspecified Password Bypass
SecurityTracker: 1015859
Vulnerability Center: 10962 - Mac OS X Authentication Bypass into Single User Mode, Medium
Vupen: ADV-2006-1215

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20150108

Entryinfo

Created: 04/04/2006 13:33
Updated: 06/23/2025 02:06
Changes: 04/04/2006 13:33 (91), 09/05/2019 13:33 (3), 06/23/2025 02:06 (17)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!