Apple QuickTime Player MP4A Uninitialized Pointer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

August 3rd, 2012
ZDI-12-130 ZDI-CAN-1382

CVE ID

CVE-2011-3458

CVSS Score

7.5 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Affected Vendors

Apple

Affected Products

QuickTime

Vulnerability Details


This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Apple QuickTime Player. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.

The specific flaw exists within how the application parses a header containing codec-specific data. When handling an error case, the application will forget to initialize a pointer which will later be used in a memory operation. This can lead to code execution under the context of the application.

Additional Details

Apple has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Disclosure Timeline

  • 2011-10-21 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2012-08-03 - Coordinated public release of advisory

Credit

Luigi Auriemma
pa_kt / twitter.com/pa_kt / e1c14ba6

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