Security Update fixes Finder, iChat, more

Apple today released Security Update 2007-002 to fix several vulnerabilities affecting the Mac OS X Finder, iChat, and the UserNotificationCenter process. One vulnerability could cause an application to crash or result in arbitrary code execution, resuming the user is enticed into opening a specially-crafted disk image resulting in a buffer overflow in Finder's handling of volume names. Two iChat-related security concerns are fixed in the update, preventing attackers on the local network from causing iChat to crash and foiling potential attempts by malicious websites to cause applications to crash or execute arbitrary code. The UserNotificationCenter process runs with elevated privileges in the context of local users, potentially allowing a malicious local user to overwrite or modify system files prior to the update. The update is available for download from Apple's website, as well as via the "Software Update" feature in Mac OS X located under the Apple menu.

Finder

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 the issue, potentially leading to an application crash or arbitrary code execution. A proof of concept for this issue has been published on the Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB) website, and the update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of disk images. The issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X 10.4. Apple offers credit to Kevin Finisterre of DigitalMunition for reporting the issue.

iChat

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 the issue in Mac OS X 10.4 has been published on the Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB) website, and the update addresses the issues by performing additional validation of Bonjour messages.

A format string vulnerability also 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 could lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution. A proof of concept for the issue has been published on the Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB) website, and the update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of AIM URLs.

UserNotification

The UserNotificationCenter process runs with elevated privileges in the context of a local user which could
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 (MoAB) website, and the update addresses the issue by having UserNotificationCenter drop its group privileges immediately after launching.

Filed under: software