CVE-2014-4404
Published: 18 September 2014
Summary
CVE-2014-4404 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 1.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the IOHIDFamily component on Apple iOS versions prior to 8 and Apple TV versions prior to 7. The flaw, assigned CWE-787, is triggered when an application supplies specially crafted key-mapping properties, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution.
An attacker with the ability to run a malicious application on an affected device can exploit the issue to achieve arbitrary code execution in a privileged context. The attack requires local access and user interaction but needs no prior privileges on the system, corresponding to a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8.
Apple addressed the vulnerability through updates that bring iOS to version 8 and Apple TV to version 7, as noted in the vendor's security announcements and support documentation. No further mitigation details such as configuration changes or workarounds are specified in the available references.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2014-4331
Vulnerability details
Heap-based buffer overflow in IOHIDFamily in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context via an application that provides crafted key-mapping properties.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 10 February 2022
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly implements memory protection mechanisms that would block the heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-787) in IOHIDFamily before memory corruption occurs.
Requires timely application of patches that remediate the specific IOHIDFamily flaw, exactly as Apple did by updating to iOS 8 / Apple TV 7.
Mandates validation of untrusted input (crafted key-mapping properties supplied by an app) to reject malformed data that triggers the overflow.