A cybersecurity advisory was issued Thursday, Sep. 17, 2020, regarding multiple vulnerabilities in Apple products. These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code which could potentially lead to a breach.
What It Is:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, Safari, and Xcode. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution.
Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in arbitrary code execution within the context of the application, an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-on user or the bypassing of security restrictions. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow the attacker to execute remote code on the affected system.
Read the original Apple security bulletins: HT211843, HT211844, HT211845, HT211848, HT211850.
Threat Intelligence:
There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.
Systems Affected:
• iOS prior to 14.0
• iPadOS prior to 14.0
• watchOS prior to 7.0
• tvOS prior to 14.0
• Xcode prior to 12.0
• Safari prior to 14.0
Risk:
Government:
• Large and medium government entities: High
• Small government entities: High
Businesses:
• Large and medium business entities: High
• Small business entities: High
Home users: High
What It Means:
If you and/or your business utilize the Apple products mentioned above, you will need to apply the appropriate update(s) following proper testing.
Technical Summary:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, Safari, and Xcode. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution. Details of these vulnerabilities are as follows:
• A lock screen issue allowed access to messages on a locked device. This issue was addressed with improved state management. (CVE-2020-9959)
• A logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions. (CVE-2020-9968)
• A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. (CVE-2020-9976)
• A memory initialization issue was addressed with improved memory handling. (CVE-2020-9964)
• An input validation issue was addressed with improved input validation. (CVE-2020-9952)
• An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. (CVE-2020-9973)
• An out-of-bounds write issues were addressed with improved bounds checking. (CVE-2020-9958, CVE-2020-9983)
• A trust issue was addressed by removing a legacy API. (CVE-2020-9979)
• A type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. (CVE-2020-9948)
• A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. (CVE-2020-9951)
• The issue was addressed with improved handling of icon caches. (CVE-2020-9773)
• This issue was addressed by encrypting communications over the network to devices running iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7. (CVE-2020-9992)
• This issue was addressed with improved checks. (CVE-2020-9946)
What To Do:
We recommend the following actions be taken:
• Install the updates provided by Apple immediately after appropriate testing.
• Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.
• Remind users not to visit websites or follow links provided by unknown or untrusted sources.
• Inform and educate users regarding the threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments especially from untrusted sources.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services.
Negative Consequences of Lost or Stolen Data:
The loss or theft of proprietary data can have severe impacts, particularly if the compromise becomes public and sensitive information is exposed. Possible impacts include:
• Temporary or permanent loss of sensitive or proprietary information.
• Disruption to regular operations.
• Financial losses incurred to restore systems and files.
• Potential harm to an organization’s reputation.
Should your agency or business need assistance with issues arising from vulnerabilities in Apple products including updates and/or patches, Dox can help. Please contact Dox if there is anything we can do to assist in securing your agency, business, or organization.
Thank you for your time and stay safe online.
