CVE-2015-3779

Vulnerability

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in QuickTime 7 on Apple OS X versions before 10.10.5. The flaw is triggered when the application processes a specially crafted file, leading to memory corruption. This CVE affects QuickTime 7 on OS X Yosemite v10.10 to v10.10.4 and OS X Mavericks v10.9.5. The vulnerability is distinct from similar issues identified as CVE-2015-3765, CVE-2015-3788, CVE-2015-3789, CVE-2015-3790, CVE-2015-3791, CVE-2015-3792, CVE-2015-5751, CVE-2015-5753, and CVE-2015-5779 [1].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by convincing a user to open a maliciously crafted file using QuickTime 7. The attacker does not require any special authentication or network position; the attack vector is local (user interaction required). The crafted file causes memory corruption when parsed, which can lead to arbitrary code execution or an application crash.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system with the privileges of the user running QuickTime, or to cause a denial of service (application crash). This could lead to full compromise of the user's data and system.

Mitigation

Apple addressed this vulnerability in OS X Yosemite v10.10.5 and Security Update 2015-006. Users should update to OS X 10.10.5 or later, or apply the relevant security update. No workarounds are provided; applying the update is the only mitigation [1].