iOS Vulnerability Allows Remote Code Execution Triggered by Image Files

A vulnerability in the way Apple iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac or Apple TV software processes images could allow attackers to gain full control over devices by sending victims malicious Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) files.

Triggering a buffer overflow in Apple”s Image I/O API, an attacker could allegedly run their own malicious code on the device and potentially gain access to information stored on the gadget. With some applications using the Image I/O API to automatically render images, the vulnerability is considerably more dangerous as it might not even require user interaction.

“This vulnerability is especially concerning as it can be triggered in any application that makes use of the Apple Image I/O API when rendering tiled TIFF images,” said Tyler Bohan from security firm Cisco Talos. “Depending on the delivery method chosen by an attacker, this vulnerability is potentially exploitable through methods that do not require explicit user interaction since many applications (ie iMessage) automatically attempt to render images when they are received in their default configurations.”

Filed as CVE-2016-4631, it”s estimated that the vulnerability could affect all iOS versions prior to 9.3.3, as Apple”s support page states the latest update contains a fix for the issue. However, it”s only available for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch (5th generation) and later, and the iPad 2 and later.

Since the vulnerability is difficult to detect, everyone is strongly encouraged to update their Apple software to its latest version. While there have been no reports of in-the-wild attacks exploiting this vulnerability, unpatched devices will be vulnerable to this type of attack.