Spoofing attack in Apple Safari

1) Spoofing attack

EUVDB-ID: #VU14684

Risk: Critical

CVSSv3.1: 9 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:U/RC:C]

CVE-ID: N/A

CWE-ID: CWE-451 - User Interface (UI) Misrepresentation of Critical Information (Clickjacking, spoofing)

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to conduct spoofing attack.

The weakness exists due to the way macOS processes URI handlers with enabled "Open Safe Files" setting in Safari browser. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted web page, trick the victim into clicking on a spoof dialog box and force unauthorized downloading of malicious file (e.g. ZIP-archive). Once downloaded, the archive will be automatically extracted.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may allow an attacker to compromise vulnerable system.

Note: the vulnerability is being exploited in the wild by the WindShift APT actor against government organizations in the Middle East.

Mitigation

Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any solutions addressing the vulnerability.
As a workaround, users can disable "Open Safe Files" setting.

Vulnerable software versions

Apple Safari: 11.1.2

External links

http://objective-see.com/blog/blog_0x38.html
http://gsec.hitb.org/materials/sg2018/D1%20COMMSEC%20-%20In%20the%20Trails%20of%20WINDSHIFT%20APT%2...

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

How the attacker can exploit this vulnerability?

The attacker would have to trick the victim to visit a specially crafted website.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

Yes. This vulnerability is being exploited in the wild.