iPod Touch update addresses DNS vulnerabilities

Some of the five security updates also address vulnerabilities within Webkit and CoreGraphics.

Robert Vamosi Former Editor

As CNET's former resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security.

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Robert Vamosi

Sept. 9, 2008 4:14 p.m. PT

2 min read

On Tuesday, Apple released iPod Touch version 2.1 to address several security issues. Among them are the DNS vulnerabilities first reported by Dan Kaminsky of IOActive in July. Other issues include vulnerabilities in Webkit, CoreGraphics, and the Application Sandbox.

Earlier on Tuesday, Apple released updates to its QuickTime media player.

Apple notes that this update is only available through iTunes as part of the iPod Touch updating process and will not appear in your computer's Software Update application, nor can it be found on the Apple Downloads site.

Application Sandbox
This patch affects users of iPod Touch v2.0 through v2.0.2. The update addresses the information disclosure vulnerability detailed within CVE-2008-3631. Apple says "the Application Sandbox does not properly enforce access restrictions between third-party applications. This may allow a third-party application to read files in another third-party application's sandbox and lead to the disclosure of sensitive information." Apple credits Nicolas Seriot of Sen:te and Bryce Cogswell for reporting the vulnerability. This issue does not affect iPod Touch versions prior to v2.0.

CoreGraphics
This patch affects users of iPod Touch v1.1 through v2.0.2. The update addresses the FreeType v2.3.5 vulnerabilities within CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1807, CVE-2008-1808. Apple says the most serious of these vulnerabilities may lead to arbitrary code execution when accessing maliciously crafted font data.

mDNSResponder
This patch affects users of iPod Touch v1.1 through v2.0.2. The update addresses the cache poisoning vulnerability within CVE-2008-1447. Apple explains that mDNSResponder provides translation between host names and IP addresses for applications that use its unicast DNS resolution API. A weakness in the DNS protocol may allow a remote attacker to perform DNS cache poisoning attacks. As a result, applications that rely on mDNSResponder for DNS may receive forged information.

Networking
This patch affects users of CVE-2008-3612. The update addresses the memory corruption issue vulnerability details within CVE-2008-3626. Apple says the TCP initial sequence numbers are sequentially generated. Predictable initial sequence numbers may allow a remote attacker to create a spoofed TCP connection or insert data into an existing TCP connection.

WebKit
This patch affects users of iPod Touch v1.1 through v2.0.2. The update addresses a vulnerability detailed within CVE-2008-3632. Apple says that a use-after-free issue exists in WebKit's handling of CSS import statements. Visiting a maliciously crafted Web site may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.