CVE-2014-8823

Vulnerability

The vulnerability resides in the IOUSBControllerUserClient::ReadRegister function within the IOUSBFamily kernel extension in Apple OS X. By providing a crafted first argument, a local user with root privileges can read data from arbitrary kernel memory locations. This issue affects OS X versions prior to 10.10.2 (Yosemite) [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must have root access on the system. The exploitation involves calling the ReadRegister function with a specially crafted first argument that specifies an arbitrary kernel memory address. No additional user interaction or network access is required beyond local root privileges [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation allows the attacker to read arbitrary kernel memory, leading to disclosure of sensitive kernel data, such as cryptographic keys, process credentials, or other confidential information. This compromises the confidentiality of the system [1].

Mitigation

Apple addressed this vulnerability in OS X Yosemite v10.10.2, released on January 27, 2015. Users should update to this version or later. No workarounds are documented. The vulnerability is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog [1].