TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative
 

Apple Webkit DOCUMENT_POSITION_DISCONNECTED Attribute Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

ZDI-10-095: June 8th, 2010

CVE ID

CVSS Score

Affected Vendors

Affected Products

TippingPoint™ IPS Customer Protection

TippingPoint IPS customers are protected against this vulnerability by Digital Vaccine protection filter ID 9332. For further product information on the TippingPoint IPS:

Vulnerability Details

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on software utilizing a vulnerable version of Apple's Webkit. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page.

The specific flaw exists within the way that Apple's Webkit handles the DOCUMENT_POSITION_DISCONNECTED attribute when a container is removed. This attribute is responsible for ensuring that a node is disconnected from it's container and is implementation specific regarding the order of each node. If the disconnected element is removed from a particular type of container, the next time the application attempts to reference that container, the application will access memory that has been free which can lead to code execution under the context of the application.

Vendor Response

Apple has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:

Disclosure Timeline

    2009-12-04 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
    2010-06-08 - Coordinated public release of advisory

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered by:
    wushi&Z of team509