Apple Mac OS X up to 10.5.0 Spotlight code injection

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.
6.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Apple Mac OS X up to 10.5.0. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component Spotlight. Such manipulation leads to code injection. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2009-0944. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple Mac OS X up to 10.5.0 (Operating System). It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component Spotlight. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a code injection vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-94. The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

The Microsoft Office Spotlight Importer in Spotlight in Apple Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5 before 10.5.7 does not properly validate Microsoft Office files, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a file that triggers memory corruption.

The bug was discovered 05/12/2009. The weakness was released 05/13/2009 with Apple (Website). The advisory is shared for download at us-cert.gov. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2009-0944 since 03/18/2009. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1059.

It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 38744 (Mac OS X 10.5.x < 10.5.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities), 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 116423 (Apple Mac OS X 10.5.7 and Security Update 2009-002 Not Installed (APPLE-SA-2009-05-12)).

Upgrading to version 10.5.1 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published even before and not after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (50529), Tenable (38744), SecurityFocus (BID 34939†), OSVDB (54444†) and Secunia (SA35074†). Entries connected to this vulnerability are available at VDB-3978, VDB-23858, VDB-30376 and VDB-40710. VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Support

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.6

VulDB Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

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

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Code injection
CWE: CWE-94 / CWE-74 / CWE-707
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Proof-of-Concept

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Nessus ID: 38744
Nessus Name: Mac OS X 10.5.x < 10.5.7 Multiple Vulnerabilities
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 102035
OpenVAS Name: get_kb_item(ssh/login/osx_name
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Mac OS X 10.5.1

Timelineinfo

03/18/2009 🔍
05/12/2009 +55 days 🔍
05/12/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/12/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/12/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/13/2009 +1 days 🔍
05/13/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/13/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/13/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/13/2009 +0 days 🔍
05/18/2009 +5 days 🔍
03/17/2015 +2129 days 🔍
05/27/2025 +3723 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: us-cert.gov
Organization: Apple
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2009-0944 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2009-0944
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-48176
X-Force: 50529
SecurityFocus: 34939 - Apple Mac OS X SpotLight Multiple Memory Corruption Vulnerabilities
Secunia: 35074
OSVDB: 54444 - Apple - Mac OS X - SpotLight Multiple Memory Corruption Issues
SecurityTracker: 1022215
Vulnerability Center: 22081 - Apple Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5-10.5.6 Microsoft Office Spotlight Importer Remote Code Execution, Medium
Vupen: ADV-2009-1297

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

Entryinfo

Created: 03/17/2015 23:38
Updated: 05/27/2025 01:55
Changes: 03/17/2015 23:38 (75), 09/04/2019 11:17 (10), 05/27/2025 01:55 (18)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

Might our Artificial Intelligence support you?

Check our Alexa App!