Security Update 2007-002 released: Finder, iChat and UserNotification vulnerabilities plugged

Apple has released Security Update 2007-002 in the following editions:

• Universal (for Intel-based Macs) [6.6 MB] for Mac OS X 10.4.x
• PowerPC [3.8 MB] for Mac OS X 10.4.x
• PowerPC [1.4 MB] for Mac OS X 10.3.x

This release includes the following security enhancements:

Finder [Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.8, Mac OS X Server v10.4.8]

Impact: Mounting a maliciously-crafted disk image may lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution

Description: A buffer overflow exists in Finder's handling of volume names. By enticing a user to mount a malicious disk image, an attacker could trigger this issue, which may lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution. A proof of concept for this issue has been published on the "Month of Apple Bugs" website (MOAB-09-01-2007). This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of disk images. This issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4. Credit to Kevin Finisterre of DigitalMunition for reporting this issue.

iChat [Available for: Mac OS X v10.3.9, Mac OS X Server v10.3.9, Mac OS X v10.4.8, Mac OS X Server v10.4.8]

Impact: Attackers on the local network may be able to cause iChat to crash;

Description: A null pointer dereference in iChat's Bonjour message handling could allow a local network attacker to cause an application crash. A proof of concept for this issue in Mac OS X v10.4 has been published on the "Month of Apple Bugs" website (MOAB-29-01-2007). A similar issue exists in Mac OS X v10.3. This update addresses the issues by performing additional validation of Bonjour messages.

iChat [Available for: Mac OS X v10.3.9, Mac OS X Server v10.3.9, Mac OS X v10.4.8, Mac OS X Server v10.4.8] Impact: Visiting malicious websites may lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution

Description: A format string vulnerability exists in the iChat AIM URL handler. By enticing a user to access a maliciously-crafted AIM URL, an attacker can trigger the overflow, which may lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution. A proof of concept for this issue has been published on the "Month of Apple Bugs" website (MOAB-20-01-2007). This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of AIM URLs.

UserNotification [Available for: Mac OS X v10.3.9, Mac OS X Server v10.3.9, Mac OS X v10.4.8, Mac OS X Server v10.4.8]

Impact: Malicious local users may be able to obtain system privileges

Description: The UserNotificationCenter process runs with elevated privileges in the context of a local user. This may allow a malicious local user to overwrite or modify system files. A program that triggers this issue has been published on the "Month of Apple Bugs" website (MOAB-22-01-2007). This update addresses the issue by having UserNotificationCenter drop its group privileges immediately after launching.

Problems after installing this update? Please let us know.

Resources