Advisory Details

May 18th, 2017

(Pwn2Own) Apple macOS authd Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

ZDI-17-356
ZDI-CAN-4579

CVE ID CVE-2017-2535
CVSS SCORE 6.9, AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
AFFECTED VENDORS Apple
AFFECTED PRODUCTS macOS
VULNERABILITY DETAILS


This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on vulnerable installations of Apple macOS. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the authd service. The issue lies in the lack of proper validation of authorization tokens prior to using them. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges under the context of root.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS Apple has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207797
DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
  • 2017-03-17 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2017-05-18 - Coordinated public release of advisory
CREDIT Samuel Groß and Niklas Baumstark
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