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Mac users, download macOS 11.3 now to fix major security flaw By Jack Morse 2021-04-26 17:09:10 UTC The latest version of Apple's macOS comes with more than just a slew of fancy new features. Brave is an open-source web browser that aims to block website trackers and remove intrusive internet advertisements. CodeWeavers CrossOver Chromium is an unofficial bundle of a Wine derivative and Chromium Developer Build 21 for Linux and macOS, first released on 15 September 2008 by CodeWeavers as part of their CrossOver project. This is an extremely serious problem, and one Apple is rightly criticized for. All Mac users are at risk due to the Java vulnerability, and should immediately take actions to protect themselves.

Six months after software developer Jeff Johnson told Apple about a privacy bypass vulnerability opening up protected files in macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina, and the upcoming macOS Big Sur, the bug remains unfixed – so he's going public.

Johnson, who runs app developer Lapcat Software, said he submitted details about the problem to Apple's Security Bounty program on the day it opened for business, December 19, 2019. The problem appears to be with Apple's Transparency, Consent, and Control sandboxing system.

Essentially, naughty apps can exploit the bug to access protected files, such as your browser history, that should be off limits.

In a blog post on Tuesday, he explains that after asking Apple for a status update in January this year, in April, and again in June, and being told each time the iGiant is still investigating, he has decided to disclose his findings in an effort to push back against the tech titan's boasts about security and privacy. Symbiotic: chapter 1 - kickstarter demo mac os.

'For technical reasons, I don't believe that the issue will be fixed by Apple before Big Sur is released to the public in the Fall,' he wrote. 'I've seen no evidence that Big Sur makes any effort in this direction, and Apple's email to me shows no evidence of that either. Therefore, I'm disclosing the issue now.'

He revealed a similar issue last October after reporting it in February of that year and waited eight months for Apple to fix it, to no avail.

Mutiny on the Bounty

Johnson in his post expressed dissatisfaction with the Apple Security Bounty program, calling the experience a disappointment and stating he doesn't intend to participate in the future.

'Talking to Apple Product Security is like talking to a brick wall,' he said in an email to The Register. 'I suspect that Apple doesn't trust outsiders with any information, but this attitude is counterproductive, because it just alienates the people who report bugs, and turns them away from bug reporting. Distrust from one side causes distrust from the other side too.'

Apple says if developers are unhappy with its App Store decisions, it will entertain appeals against its rulings – and even its own rules

This latest bug can be exploited by a maliciously crafted app to bypass a privacy system known as Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) that was introduced in OS X Mavericks and got strengthened in subsequent releases through technologies like System Integrity Protection (SIP) in El Capitan (the branding transition from Mac OS X to macOS didn't happen until mid-2016). Simple pong (jackboyman) mac os.

Starting in 2018, with macOS Mojave, TCC expanded to require apps to get special permission to run AppleScript, and that's when, Johnson says, developers really took notice of it.

TCC is a sandboxing system designed to enforce user privacy decisions, like approving or denying app access to location data or data stored in files like the contacts database. What Johnson discovered is a way to let unauthorized apps access protected files.

His proof-of-concept code demonstrates how a user-installed macOS app can access files that should be protected by TCC, specifically in ~/Library/Safari directory, and then posts the data to a remote server. The files stored in that directory include lists of bookmarks, browser history, downloads, and other data related to browsing sessions. If another app were targeted, the bypass would provide access to other app-specific files.

The bypass is made possible by two flaws. First, exceptions to TCC blocking – specified by the file ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db – rely on the app's bundle identifier instead of the file path. So an app with a copy of that identifier in another location gets treated as the original, authorized app. The other is that TCC's code signature check is not very thorough and doesn't spot modified resources, because running a deep check of an app and its resource files can take a long time.

Johnson acknowledged that a privacy flaw leaking data is not particularly serious as far as such bugs go, but maintained it's not something that should be ignored.

'If you believe that macOS privacy protections are important, then yes, this is a very serious issue,' he said via email.

'On the other hand, if you were very satisfied with the level of macOS system security that existed prior to 2018, then no, you might not care about this much. In either case, though, it's a serious design flaw in the privacy protections system.'

Johnson said he chose to write about the flaw because he felt Apple's increasing use of restrictive privacy systems limits what legitimate developers can do without hindering the ill-intentioned building malware.

'My personal opinion is that macOS privacy protections are mainly security theater and only harm legitimate Mac developers while allowing malware apps to bypass them through many existing holes such as the one I'm disclosing, and that other security researchers have also found,' Johnson wrote.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. ®

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A Danish IT security company published an advisory Monday that warns of two Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) flaws in at least two Web browsers that run on Mac OS X.

Secunia wrote that it has confirmed these vulnerabilities in Safari 1.2.1 and in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 5.2. The firm also stated that the flaws might affect other Mac OS-compatible browsers.

Secunia CTO Thomas Kristensen told MacNewsWorld on Wednesday that the vulnerability can affect any Mac browser that supports the OS X URI handler. Morfosi mac os. A URI is a string of characters, such as 'ftp:' or 'http:' that points the browser window to the proper resource.

The company updated its rating of the flaw Tuesday from 'critical' to 'extremely critical' because so many working exploits are obtainable.

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Little Help

According to Secunia, malicious Web sites can compromise Mac OS X computers in two ways. A 'help' URI handler can execute what the firm termed an 'arbitrary local script (.scpt)' through 'the classic directory traversal character sequence using 'help:runscript.'

In addition, the flaw also allows malicious sites to secretly put random files on a victim's computer by using the 'disk' URI handler.

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'The risk is that a URI can be used to download and mount a disk locally on the user's computer. Then, the malicious Web site, knowing the location of the disk, can open and execute scripts, which could include delivering viruses or keystroke loggers and similar damaging programs,' Kristensen explained.

An OS Issue

'Since this is an operating system issue and not a browser issue, there are limited methods to protect a system against these attacks,' Kristensen noted. 'We have found that, in Internet Explorer, a user can access the Preferences Pane for IE, and change the helper's protocol for each help URI handler.'

However, Kristensen advised that this issue ultimately has to be addressed by Apple.

Meanwhile, Secunia recommends that OS X users avoid 'untrusted' Web sites; rename any URI handlers that are not necessary; and not use the Web as a 'privileged user.'

Delayed Reaction

Secunia first learned of these vulnerabilities from someone with the handle 'lixlpixel.' Lixlpixel disclosed on his Web site that he first told Apple about the problem back on February 23rd but did not receive a reply.

Lixlpixel decided to come forward with the information because 'these 'exploits' are on the rise, and it's so easy to protect yourself.'

In an exclusive interview Wednesday, lixlpixel told MacNewsWorld that, after waiting on Apple's reply, he finally posted the advisory to a Swiss Macintosh Web site.

'This is how Secunia picked up on the vulnerability,' lixlpixel said, adding he had not contacted Secunia directly.

'Just by the nature of the Internet, this post took off,' he continued.

Means of Discovery

Johnson, who runs app developer Lapcat Software, said he submitted details about the problem to Apple's Security Bounty program on the day it opened for business, December 19, 2019. The problem appears to be with Apple's Transparency, Consent, and Control sandboxing system.

Essentially, naughty apps can exploit the bug to access protected files, such as your browser history, that should be off limits.

In a blog post on Tuesday, he explains that after asking Apple for a status update in January this year, in April, and again in June, and being told each time the iGiant is still investigating, he has decided to disclose his findings in an effort to push back against the tech titan's boasts about security and privacy. Symbiotic: chapter 1 - kickstarter demo mac os.

'For technical reasons, I don't believe that the issue will be fixed by Apple before Big Sur is released to the public in the Fall,' he wrote. 'I've seen no evidence that Big Sur makes any effort in this direction, and Apple's email to me shows no evidence of that either. Therefore, I'm disclosing the issue now.'

He revealed a similar issue last October after reporting it in February of that year and waited eight months for Apple to fix it, to no avail.

Mutiny on the Bounty

Johnson in his post expressed dissatisfaction with the Apple Security Bounty program, calling the experience a disappointment and stating he doesn't intend to participate in the future.

'Talking to Apple Product Security is like talking to a brick wall,' he said in an email to The Register. 'I suspect that Apple doesn't trust outsiders with any information, but this attitude is counterproductive, because it just alienates the people who report bugs, and turns them away from bug reporting. Distrust from one side causes distrust from the other side too.'

Apple says if developers are unhappy with its App Store decisions, it will entertain appeals against its rulings – and even its own rules

This latest bug can be exploited by a maliciously crafted app to bypass a privacy system known as Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) that was introduced in OS X Mavericks and got strengthened in subsequent releases through technologies like System Integrity Protection (SIP) in El Capitan (the branding transition from Mac OS X to macOS didn't happen until mid-2016). Simple pong (jackboyman) mac os.

Starting in 2018, with macOS Mojave, TCC expanded to require apps to get special permission to run AppleScript, and that's when, Johnson says, developers really took notice of it.

TCC is a sandboxing system designed to enforce user privacy decisions, like approving or denying app access to location data or data stored in files like the contacts database. What Johnson discovered is a way to let unauthorized apps access protected files.

His proof-of-concept code demonstrates how a user-installed macOS app can access files that should be protected by TCC, specifically in ~/Library/Safari directory, and then posts the data to a remote server. The files stored in that directory include lists of bookmarks, browser history, downloads, and other data related to browsing sessions. If another app were targeted, the bypass would provide access to other app-specific files.

The bypass is made possible by two flaws. First, exceptions to TCC blocking – specified by the file ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db – rely on the app's bundle identifier instead of the file path. So an app with a copy of that identifier in another location gets treated as the original, authorized app. The other is that TCC's code signature check is not very thorough and doesn't spot modified resources, because running a deep check of an app and its resource files can take a long time.

Johnson acknowledged that a privacy flaw leaking data is not particularly serious as far as such bugs go, but maintained it's not something that should be ignored.

'If you believe that macOS privacy protections are important, then yes, this is a very serious issue,' he said via email.

'On the other hand, if you were very satisfied with the level of macOS system security that existed prior to 2018, then no, you might not care about this much. In either case, though, it's a serious design flaw in the privacy protections system.'

Johnson said he chose to write about the flaw because he felt Apple's increasing use of restrictive privacy systems limits what legitimate developers can do without hindering the ill-intentioned building malware.

'My personal opinion is that macOS privacy protections are mainly security theater and only harm legitimate Mac developers while allowing malware apps to bypass them through many existing holes such as the one I'm disclosing, and that other security researchers have also found,' Johnson wrote.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. ®

There's $20B in buyer demand for technology M&A. Where's it going?
Our Technology M&A: 2021 Outlook gives owners, founders and entrepreneurs insight into why e-commerce is dominating technology acquisitions, what this means for multiples, when investors are looking to allocate capital and more. Download now.

A Danish IT security company published an advisory Monday that warns of two Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) flaws in at least two Web browsers that run on Mac OS X.

Secunia wrote that it has confirmed these vulnerabilities in Safari 1.2.1 and in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 5.2. The firm also stated that the flaws might affect other Mac OS-compatible browsers.

Secunia CTO Thomas Kristensen told MacNewsWorld on Wednesday that the vulnerability can affect any Mac browser that supports the OS X URI handler. Morfosi mac os. A URI is a string of characters, such as 'ftp:' or 'http:' that points the browser window to the proper resource.

The company updated its rating of the flaw Tuesday from 'critical' to 'extremely critical' because so many working exploits are obtainable.

This Is Serious Police Business Mac Os Download

Little Help

According to Secunia, malicious Web sites can compromise Mac OS X computers in two ways. A 'help' URI handler can execute what the firm termed an 'arbitrary local script (.scpt)' through 'the classic directory traversal character sequence using 'help:runscript.'

In addition, the flaw also allows malicious sites to secretly put random files on a victim's computer by using the 'disk' URI handler.

This Is Serious Police Business Mac Os X Yosemite

'The risk is that a URI can be used to download and mount a disk locally on the user's computer. Then, the malicious Web site, knowing the location of the disk, can open and execute scripts, which could include delivering viruses or keystroke loggers and similar damaging programs,' Kristensen explained.

An OS Issue

'Since this is an operating system issue and not a browser issue, there are limited methods to protect a system against these attacks,' Kristensen noted. 'We have found that, in Internet Explorer, a user can access the Preferences Pane for IE, and change the helper's protocol for each help URI handler.'

However, Kristensen advised that this issue ultimately has to be addressed by Apple.

Meanwhile, Secunia recommends that OS X users avoid 'untrusted' Web sites; rename any URI handlers that are not necessary; and not use the Web as a 'privileged user.'

Delayed Reaction

Secunia first learned of these vulnerabilities from someone with the handle 'lixlpixel.' Lixlpixel disclosed on his Web site that he first told Apple about the problem back on February 23rd but did not receive a reply.

Lixlpixel decided to come forward with the information because 'these 'exploits' are on the rise, and it's so easy to protect yourself.'

In an exclusive interview Wednesday, lixlpixel told MacNewsWorld that, after waiting on Apple's reply, he finally posted the advisory to a Swiss Macintosh Web site.

'This is how Secunia picked up on the vulnerability,' lixlpixel said, adding he had not contacted Secunia directly.

'Just by the nature of the Internet, this post took off,' he continued.

Means of Discovery

'I was building a site where PHP and AppleScript work together to achieve what I wanted. That's when I discovered that you could start applications on the Mac via [a] URL,' lixlpixel said.

'Of course that's no big deal, but then I realized that if you knew the location of the downloaded program on the user's machine, it gets more dangerous. That's why I notified Apple.'

Apple declined to comment specifically on this issue with MacNewsWorld, although the company did release an official statement.

'We take security very seriously at Apple, and we are actively investigating this potential security issue,' Apple's statement read. 'While no operating system can be completely secure from all threats, Apple has an excellent track record of identifying and rapidly correcting potential vulnerabilities.'

Potential Solution

According to lixlpixel, one option users have is to download a freeware preference panel called More Internet, from a Web site called 'Monkey Food.' The preference panel works by giving users the ability to decide which applications they want to set as Internet protocol helpers.

'Just installing it will not help,' said lixlpixel. 'It is important to then change the Internet protocol helpers to an unprivileged application, such as Chess or Text Edit.'

This reporter tried to download More Internet to test in Safari; however, the Monkey Food Web site was overwhelmed with traffic. A mirror site then became available.

The application is straightforward and allows a user to access Mac OS X's System Preferences and make changes to all Internet helper protocols.

Reaction 'Overwhelming'

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When asked about More Internet, Secunia CTO Kristensen said that his firm does not promote or endorse third-party software that 'may or may not address a security issue.' He asserted that Apple needs to address the problem because the vulnerability is Mac OS-based.

For his part, lixlpixel admitted being a bit overwhelmed by the reaction. 'I am a big fan of Apple. [I] use their systems and have converted several friends to Mac. I don't want to be seen as trying to hurt Apple,' he said.

Lixlpixel also confirmed he was in contact with an Apple public relations employee in Germany and was awaiting that person's return call.

Future Risks

When asked if publicizing this flaw could spur more attacks on Mac OS X, Kristensen said that any operating system that focuses on adding usability features through a graphical user interface will inevitably run the risk of releasing loopholes through which security can be compromised.

'Apple's advantage is the more secure nature of its FreeBSD Unix core,' Kristensen continued.

In an interview with MacNewsWorld, Yankee Group senior analyst Laura DiDio pointed to a study released in February by MI2g, a London-based security-consulting firm. In a review of 17,500 hacks, they found Mac OS X and FreeBSD to be among the least attacked operating systems, accounting for just over 4 percent of all hacks.

Avenues to Take

DiDio said that no operating system or software application is immune to security threats and urged OS X users to practice the same security due diligence as their Windows, Unix and Linux counterparts.

'Statistics don't mean a thing if your firm is the one that falls victim to a successful penetration,' she said.

DiDio then suggested some processes for reporting security concerns, based on Yankee Group research.

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'There are several avenues one should take. First is the direct route -- that is informing the vendor. Customers who think that their OS has been compromised should file a formal incident report –- via hard copy, e-mail and phone calls to the vendor,' DiDio explained.

This Is Serious Police Business Mac Os X

'Escalate the reporting process according to the severity and pervasiveness of the attack. Checking with local Apple Mac user groups and Internet user groups is also helpful in discerning how much of an issue this is,' she added.