diff --git a/src/macos-hardening/macos-security-and-privilege-escalation/mac-os-architecture/macos-kernel-vulnerabilities.md b/src/macos-hardening/macos-security-and-privilege-escalation/mac-os-architecture/macos-kernel-vulnerabilities.md index b297299b0..c81c93cbd 100644 --- a/src/macos-hardening/macos-security-and-privilege-escalation/mac-os-architecture/macos-kernel-vulnerabilities.md +++ b/src/macos-hardening/macos-security-and-privilege-escalation/mac-os-architecture/macos-kernel-vulnerabilities.md @@ -7,7 +7,94 @@ [**In this report**](https://jhftss.github.io/The-Nightmare-of-Apple-OTA-Update/) are explained several vulnerabilities that allowed to compromised the kernel compromising the software updater.\ [**PoC**](https://github.com/jhftss/POC/tree/main/CVE-2022-46722). +--- + +## 2024: In-the-wild Kernel 0-days (CVE-2024-23225 & CVE-2024-23296) + +Apple patched two memory-corruption bugs that were actively exploited against iOS and macOS in March 2024 (fixed in macOS 14.4/13.6.5/12.7.4). + +* **CVE-2024-23225 – Kernel** + • Out-of-bounds write in the XNU virtual-memory subsystem allows an unprivileged process to obtain arbitrary read/write in the kernel address space, bypassing PAC/KTRR. + • Triggered from userspace via a crafted XPC message that overflows a buffer in `libxpc`, then pivots into the kernel when the message is parsed. +* **CVE-2024-23296 – RTKit** + • Memory corruption in the Apple Silicon RTKit (real-time co-processor). + • Exploitation chains observed used CVE-2024-23225 for kernel R/W and CVE-2024-23296 to escape the secure co-processor sandbox and disable PAC. + +Patch level detection: +```bash +sw_vers # ProductVersion 14.4 or later is patched +authenticate sudo sysctl kern.osversion # 23E214 or later for Sonoma +``` +If upgrading is not possible, mitigate by disabling vulnerable services: +```bash +launchctl disable system/com.apple.analyticsd +launchctl disable system/com.apple.rtcreportingd +``` + +--- + +## 2023: MIG Type-Confusion – CVE-2023-41075 + +`mach_msg()` requests sent to an unprivileged IOKit user client lead to a **type confusion** in the MIG generated glue-code. When the reply message is re-interpreted with a larger out-of-line descriptor than was originally allocated, an attacker can achieve a controlled **OOB write** into kernel heap zones and eventually +escalate to `root`. + +Primitive outline (Sonoma 14.0-14.1, Ventura 13.5-13.6): +```c +// userspace stub +typed_port_t p = get_user_client(); +uint8_t spray[0x4000] = {0x41}; +// heap-spray via IOSurfaceFastSetValue +io_service_open_extended(...); +// malformed MIG message triggers confusion +mach_msg(&msg.header, MACH_SEND_MSG|MACH_RCV_MSG, ...); +``` +Public exploits weaponise the bug by: +1. Spraying `ipc_kmsg` buffers with active port pointers. +2. Overwriting `ip_kobject` of a dangling port. +3. Jumping to shellcode mapped at a PAC-forged address using `mprotect()`. + +--- + +## 2024-2025: SIP Bypass through Third-party Kexts – CVE-2024-44243 (aka “Sigma”) + +Security researchers from Microsoft showed that the high-privileged daemon `storagekitd` can be coerced to load an **unsigned kernel extension** and thus completely disable **System Integrity Protection (SIP)** on fully patched macOS (prior to 15.2). The attack flow is: + +1. Abuse the private entitlement `com.apple.storagekitd.kernel-management` to spawn a helper under attacker control. +2. The helper calls `IOService::AddPersonalitiesFromKernelModule` with a crafted info-dictionary pointing to a malicious kext bundle. +3. Because SIP trust checks are performed *after* the kext is staged by `storagekitd`, code executes in ring-0 before validation and SIP can be turned off with `csr_set_allow_all(1)`. + +Detection tips: +```bash +kmutil showloaded | grep -v com.apple # list non-Apple kexts +log stream --style syslog --predicate 'senderImagePath contains "storagekitd"' # watch for suspicious child procs +``` +Immediate remediation is to update to macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later. + +--- + +### Quick Enumeration Cheatsheet + +```bash +uname -a # Kernel build +kmutil showloaded # List loaded kernel extensions +kextstat | grep -v com.apple # Legacy (pre-Catalina) kext list +sysctl kern.kaslr_enable # Verify KASLR is ON (should be 1) +csrutil status # Check SIP from RecoveryOS +spctl --status # Confirms Gatekeeper state +``` + +--- + +## Fuzzing & Research Tools + +* **Luftrauser** – Mach message fuzzer that targets MIG subsystems (`github.com/preshing/luftrauser`). +* **oob-executor** – IPC out-of-bounds primitive generator used in CVE-2024-23225 research. +* **kmutil inspect** – Built-in Apple utility (macOS 11+) to statically analyse kexts before loading: `kmutil inspect -b io.kext.bundleID`. + + + +## References + +* Apple. “About the security content of macOS Sonoma 14.4.” https://support.apple.com/en-us/120895 +* Microsoft Security Blog. “Analyzing CVE-2024-44243, a macOS System Integrity Protection bypass through kernel extensions.” https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/01/13/analyzing-cve-2024-44243-a-macos-system-integrity-protection-bypass-through-kernel-extensions/ {{#include ../../../banners/hacktricks-training.md}} - - -