A security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-32402, was recently discovered affecting multiple Apple operating systems and software products, including watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, Safari 16.5, iOS 16.5, and iPadOS 16.5. This vulnerability could potentially allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information by exploiting an out-of-bounds read issue. Apple has patched this issue by improving input validation in affected products. In this blog post, we will discuss the details of this vulnerability, provide code snippets highlighting the issue, and link to the original references for further information.

Background

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability occurs when software reads data past the buffer's boundary, containing the user-supplied input. This can potentially lead to sensitive information disclosure, application crashes, or even code execution in certain cases, if the attacker manages to take advantage of the vulnerability. In CVE-2023-32402, the affected Apple products lack proper input validation on specific web content, potentially leading to information disclosure.

Exploit Details

Although there are no publicly available exploits targeting CVE-2023-32402 at this time, it is essential to understand the nature of the vulnerability and how it could be exploited. This issue arises from improper input validation, which can cause out-of-bounds reads when processing web content. A simplified code snippet demonstrating this issue is shown below:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

void vulnerable_function(char *input) {
    char buffer[100];
    strcpy(buffer, input);
    ...
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    if(argc < 2) {
        printf("Usage: %s <input>\n", argv[]);
        exit(1);
    }
    vulnerable_function(argv[1]);
    return ;
}

In this example, the vulnerable_function takes an input string and copies it into a buffer with a fixed size of 100 bytes. If the input string's length exceeds 100 bytes, the strcpy() function will read past the buffer's boundary, resulting in an out-of-bounds read. Similar issues could appear in Apple's affected products, causing potential information disclosure when processing web content.

Mitigation

Apple has addressed the CVE-2023-32402 vulnerability by introducing improved input validation in their watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, Safari 16.5, iOS 16.5, and iPadOS 16.5 products. Users are strongly encouraged to update their devices and software to the latest version and apply all security patches.

For further information about CVE-2023-32402, you can refer to the following original references

1. Apple's official security advisory: About the security content of watchOS 9.5

1. Apple's official security advisory: About the security content of tvOS 16.5

1. Apple's official security advisory: About the security content of macOS Ventura 13.4

1. Apple's official security advisory: About the security content of Safari 16.5

1. Apple's official security advisory: About the security content of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-32402 vulnerability serves as an essential reminder to regularly update your devices and software, ensuring that you have the latest security patches. By addressing this out-of-bounds read issue in multiple operating systems and software products, Apple has protected users from potential information disclosure threats and ensured their continued safety and privacy on the web.

Timeline

Published on: 06/23/2023 18:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 07/27/2023 04:15:00 UTC