Apple patches image buffer overflow in iPhone, iPod Touch
Apple on Monday released a patch for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The TIFF vulnerabilities associated with the patch are serious. However, in fixing the security flaws, users will no longer be able to apply Jailbreak, software that allows for third-party applications on the iPhone. Further, Apple says the update is only available through iTunes, and will not appear in the Mac OS software update application, or on the Apple downloads site, and requires the latest version of iTunes to receive this update.
Image IO
This patch affects users of iPhone v1.0 through v1.1.1,
iPod Touch v1.1, and v1.1.1 and does not not affect Mac OS X v10.3.9 systems with Security Update 2006-004, Mac OS X v10.4.7 systems with Security Update 2006-004, or systems running Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later. The patch addresses vulnerabilities found in CVE-2006-3459, CVE-2006-3461, CVE-2006-3462, and CVE-2006-3465. According to Apple, "Image IO contains a version of libtiff that is vulnerable to multiple buffer overflows. By enticing a user to view a maliciously crafted TIFF image, an attacker may cause an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issues by performing additional validation of TIFF images."
Apple credits Tavis Ormandy of Google's security team for reporting this vulnerability.
As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your questions and comments.
