![]() Of course, with only two digits to store the answer, the result would lose the leading 1-digit denoting “one hundred years”, and wrap back round to 00, causing the time and date at the stroke of midnight to shoot backwards by a century instead of advancing by just one second. This is the same class of flaw as the infamous Y2K bug, where programs that used two digits to store the year would compute the year that followed 1999 as 99+1 = 100, using this as “shortcut” instead of calculating 1999+1 = 2000 in full. ![]() Integer overflows happen when an arithmetic calculation doesn’t fit into the numeric precision available, often leading to some sort of memory buffer overflow later on.Ĭomputers typically use a fixed number of bits, typically 16, 32 or 64, to do arithmetic on integers (whole numbers, such as 1, ), so some combinations of inputs will produce outputs that won’t fit into the available space. An integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation.Īlthough Citizen Lab specifically claims that the phone it examined was infected via an iMessage communication, Apple’s bulletin describes this PDF-handling bug as existing in the Core Graphics system component, which implies that the vulnerability is not limited to the iMessage app. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. Processing a maliciously crafted PDF may lead to arbitrary code execution. The Citizen Lab report coincides with Apple’s own security bulletin HT21807, which credits Citizen Lab for reporting the hole, and says simply: They’ve given the attack the nickname FORCEDENTRY, for rather obvious reasons, though its official designation is CVE-2021-30860.Ĭitizen Lab has attributed the vulnerability, and the code that exploits it, to controversial device surveillance company NSO Group, already well-known for its so-called Pegasus line of spyware-like products.Īccording to Citizen Lab, this exploit relies on booby-trapped PDF files, and was spotted in the wild when a Saudi Arabian activist handed over their phone for analysis after suspecting that spyware had somehow been implanted on the device. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.You know what we’re going to say, so we’ll say it right away.Ĭanadian privacy and cybersecurity activist group The Citizen Lab just announced a zero-day security hole in Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Macintosh operating systems. The company has previously acknowledged similarly serious flaws and, in what Strafach estimated to be perhaps a dozen occasions, has noted that it was aware of reports that such security holes had been exploited.Ĭopyright 2022 The Associated Press. Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched. Its spyware is known to have been used in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America against journalists, dissidents and human rights activists. NSO Group has been blacklisted by the U.S. ![]() In all cases, it cited an anonymous researcher.Ĭommercial spyware companies such as Israel’s NSO Group are known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws, exploiting them in malware that surreptitiously infects targets’ smartphones, siphons their contents and surveils the targets in real time. The flaw also affects some iPod models.Īpple did not say in the reports how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered. Security experts have advised users to update affected devices - the iPhone6S and later models several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2 and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. ![]() That would allow intruders to impersonate the device’s owner and subsequently run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple disclosed serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs that could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices.Īpple released two security reports about the issue on Wednesday, although they didn’t receive wide attention outside of tech publications.Īpple’s explanation of the vulnerability means a hacker could get “full admin access” to the device. ![]()
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