Apple just released a big old pile of patches for the security-burdened Leopard and Tiger operating systems. Among the addressed problems:
- Address Book
Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution - CFNetwork
Impact: Visiting a malicious website could allow the automatic download of files to arbitrary folders to which the user has write permission - Core Foundation
Impact: Usage of CFURLWriteDataAndPropertiesToResource API may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information - Desktop Services
Impact: Opening a directory containing a maliciously-crafted .DS_Store file in Finder may lead to arbitrary code execution -
Flash Player Plug-in
Description: Adobe Flash Player is updated to version 9.0.115.0 to address CVE-2007-5476.
Further information is available via the Adobe site at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa07-05.html
Credit to Opera - GNU Tar
Impact: Extracting a maliciously crafted tar archive could overwrite arbitrary files - iChat
Impact: A person on the local network may initiate a video connection without the user’s approval - IO Storage Family
Impact: Opening a maliciously crafted disk image may lead to an unexpected system shutdown or arbitrary code execution - Launch Services
Impact: Opening a maliciously crafted HTML file may lead to information disclosure or cross-site scripting
Impact: Opening an executable mail attachment may lead to arbitrary code execution with no warning - Mail
Impact: SMTP accounts set up through Account Assistant may use plaintext authentication even when MD5 Challenge-Response authentication is available - Quick Look
Impact: Previewing a file with QuickLook enabled may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information
Impact: Previewing a movie file may access URLs contained in the movie - Safari
Impact: Visiting a malicious website may result in the disclosure of sensitive information - Safari RSS
Impact: Accessing a maliciously crafted feed: URL may lead to an application termination or arbitrary code execution - Samba
Impact: Multiple vulnerabilities in Samba - Shockwave Plug-in
Impact: Opening maliciously crafted Shockwave content may lead to arbitrary code execution - SMB
Impact: A local user may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges - Software Update
Impact: A man-in-the-middle attack could cause Software Update to execute arbitrary commands - Spin Tracer
Impact: A local user may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges - Spotlight
Impact: Downloading a maliciously crafted .xls file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
Get a look at Apple’s full descriptions of issues and fixes at their site: Security Update 2007-009
The QuickTime vulnerability originally reported on November 15 seems to have been spotted in the wild. This is not good news.
Apple made a decision to change the firewall settings in Leopard, provoking some serious questions about the security of this new OS. This latest security issue puts a spotlight on what may become a real thorn in Apple’s side.
This from Symantec:
Originally, the flaw was disclosed on November 23, 2007 by Polish security researcher Krystian Kloskowski and since then we have seen number of exploits targeting the vulnerability being released to the public. But now the exploit is active and in the wild, meaning web surfers are in danger of being attacked. Our current analysis is also leading us to believe that there may be multiple attacks in existence. Further investigation is currently under way to confirm this.
Let me briefly explain what we have seen. The attack we have confirmed today begins with the popular IFRAME. An IFRAME code that causes the browser to make an additional request to another URL, is embedded in a porn site. Without knowledge, users visiting this site are redirected to the malicious site serving the exploit. Currently, the malware that is downloaded by the exploit is detected by Symantec as Downloader. We are still studying the attack in depth, so look out for more information at a later time.
Since a patch to correct the issue has yet to be released, we advise users to be cautious when browsing the web. For those of you seeking extra protection, we also recommend the following options:
- Run web browsers at the highest security settings possible
- Disable Apple QuickTime as a registered RTSP protocol handler.
- Filter outgoing activity over common RTSP ports, including TCP port 554 and UDP ports 6970-6999.
The casual user of Apple’s new operating system, Leopard, may not be aware that unlike in Tiger, the firewall is off by default. To turn it on, you’ll need to go to System Preferences/Security/Firewall tab.
This is a new interface which lets you specify firewall blocking by application rather than ports or services (unlike Tiger). There have been several reports that Leopard’s firewall does not behave like Tiger’s. In some cases, it appears that it is not blocking certain services indicated by the settings.
Stay tuned for ongoing information regarding Leopard’s firewall issues, including some other security issues arising from Leopard’s Screen Sharing capabilities.
As the debut of Apple’s latest operating system nears, the rumblings about incompatibilities and problems increases. Although the new features are impressive, the problems and barriers to easy upgrade for exiting Tiger users is making quick adoption more difficult.
It’s not clear to me that this new OS will make my life easier/better in the educational environment I manage. For the first time, I will be testing this OS on a non-essential machine, and watching carefully the feedback from folks on several online forums. My move to Leopard will be slow and careful, despite my enthusiasm for new technology.
Check these concerns about Leopard: Leopard Compatibility
Apple has officially announced their ship date for Leopard along with some 300 new features that will be included in the new operating system.
Apple also exposed the system requirements for Leopard:
General requirements
- Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
Minimum system requirements
- 512MB of memory
- DVD drive for installation
- 9GB of available disk space
- Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
- Some features require Apple’s .Mac service; fees apply.
Apple has detailed these 300 features on their web page.
