In this post, we will discuss a critical vulnerability, identified as CVE-2022-42799, that exists in Apple's tvOS, macOS Ventura, watchOS, Safari, iOS, and iPadOS. Due to this vulnerability, visiting a malicious website may lead to user interface spoofing. Apple has addressed this issue in their recent software updates, particularly in tvOS 16.1, macOS Ventura 13, watchOS 9.1, Safari 16.1, iOS 16.1, and iPadOS 16.1. We will examine the exploit details, discuss how malicious users can exploit this vulnerability, and provide sample code snippets to demonstrate the issue.

Background

User Interface (UI) spoofing occurs when an attacker can design a fake user interface that convincingly resembles a legitimate one. A typical UI spoofing attack may trick users into believing they are interacting with a trusted application or webpage, while in reality, they are interacting with a maliciously-created forgery.

CVE-2022-42799 is a vulnerability that enables UI spoofing within Apple devices and software. The attacker may create a website that leverages this vulnerability to generate a fake UI when accessed on vulnerable devices.

Apple has acknowledged this vulnerability and discussed it in their security content listings

1. Apple's official acknowledgement and patch details
2. CVE-2022-42799 details on cve.mitre.org

Exploit Details

To exploit CVE-2022-42799, an attacker must create a malicious website that uses a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to generate the UI spoof. The attacker may leverage certain browser capabilities to make the fake UI more convincing, such as hiding or altering the browser's address bar and other browser elements.

As an example, consider the following code snippet, which demonstrates a possible exploitation of this vulnerability:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Malicious Website</title>
  <style>
    body {
      margin: ;
      padding: ;
      overflow: hidden;
    }
    iframe {
      border: ;
      position: absolute;
      top: ;
      left: ;
      width: 100%;
      height: 100%;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <iframe src="https://fake.example.com/spoofed_ui.html"></iframe>;
</body>
</html>

This HTML code demonstrates a simple malicious website that loads a spoofed UI within an iframe. By using CSS and JavaScript, the attacker can hide or manipulate the real browser elements, thereby confusing and deceiving the user.

Mitigation

Apple has addressed this issue with improved UI handling in their software updates. Users should ensure that they are running the latest versions of their Apple devices and software to protect themselves from this vulnerability.

iPadOS 16.1

Users should check for available software updates on their Apple devices and install them promptly to ensure their safety from this vulnerability.

Conclusion

In this post, we have explored the critical UI spoofing vulnerability CVE-2022-42799, which exists in Apple devices and software. Users are advised to update their devices and applications to the latest version to avoid falling victim to UI spoofing attacks. By being vigilant and maintaining updated software, users can significantly reduce their risk of experiencing security breaches.

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/15/2022 03:15:00 UTC