CVE-2014-4405

Vulnerability

IOHIDFamily in Apple iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7 contains a vulnerability that allows a NULL pointer dereference when an application provides crafted key-mapping properties [1][4]. This issue is reachable by any third-party application that can supply malicious key-mapping properties to the IOHIDFamily subsystem. Affected versions include iOS 7.x and earlier, and Apple TV 6.x and earlier.

Exploitation

An attacker must have the ability to install and run a crafted application on the target device. The application delivers specially crafted key-mapping properties to the IOHIDFamily subsystem, triggering a NULL pointer dereference. No additional authentication or user interaction beyond the initial installation and execution of the malicious application is required. The attacker can then leverage the resulting memory corruption to achieve arbitrary code execution in a privileged kernel context.

Impact

Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution in a privileged context (kernel level), which can lead to full compromise of the device. Additionally, the NULL pointer dereference alone can cause a denial of service (system crash). An attacker could potentially install unauthorized software, access sensitive data, or monitor user activity.

Mitigation

Apple addressed this issue in iOS 8 [1] and Apple TV 7 [4]. Users should update their devices to iOS 8 or later, or Apple TV 7 or later. No workaround is available for affected versions. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.