iDefense Security Advisory 07.20.11: Multiple Vendor WebKit frameset style Heap Corruption Vulnerability

iDefense Security Advisory 07.20.11
http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/
Jul 20, 2011

I. BACKGROUND

WebKit is an open source web browser engine. It is currently used by
Apple Inc.'s Safari browser, as well as by Google's Chrome browser. For
more information, see the vendor's site at the following link.

http://webkit.org/

II. DESCRIPTION

Remote exploitation of a heap based buffer overflow vulnerability in
WebKit, as included with Apple Inc.'s Safari Web browser, could allow an
attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current
user.

The vulnerability occurs when parsing a frameset element with a
malicious style attribute. Specifically, by setting the padding property
to certain values it is possible to trigger a heap based memory
corruption vulnerability. This can lead to the execution of arbitrary
code.

III. ANALYSIS

Exploitation of this vulnerability results in the execution of arbitrary
code with the privileges of the user viewing the web page. To exploit
this vulnerability, a targeted user must load a malicious webpage
created by an attacker. An attacker typically accomplishes this via
social engineering or injecting content into compromised, trusted sites.
After the user visits the malicious web page, no further user
interaction is needed.

IV. DETECTION

Safari versions prior to 5.1 and 5.0.6 are vulnerable.

V. WORKAROUND

iDefense is currently unaware of an effective workaround for this
vulnerability as it occurs in the core parsing code. However, disabling
scripting will make the vulnerability more difficult to exploit using
known techniques.

VI. VENDOR RESPONSE

Apple Inc. has released patches which addresses this issue. For more
information, consult their advisory at the following URL:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4808

VII. CVE INFORMATION

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) project has assigned the
name CVE-2011-0223 to this issue. This is a candidate for inclusion in
the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org/), which standardizes names for
security problems.

VIII. DISCLOSURE TIMELINE

02/25/2011 Initial Vendor Notification
02/25/2011 Initial Vendor Reply
07/20/2011 Coordinated Public Disclosure

IX. CREDIT

This vulnerability was reported to iDefense by Jose A. Vazquez of
{http://spa-s3c.blogspot.com}.

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X. LEGAL NOTICES

Copyright A© 2011 Verisign

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Disclaimer: The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate
at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use
of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition.
There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the
author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect,
or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on,
this information.