CVE-2015-5871

Vulnerability

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in the IOGraphics kernel extension of Apple OS X before version 10.11 (El Capitan). The issue affects systems running OS X 10.10.x and earlier. It can be triggered via unspecified vectors, potentially by a local user invoking certain IOGraphics functions.

Exploitation

An attacker must have local access to the system, either as an unprivileged user or with some level of interactive access. The exploitation vector is not publicly disclosed, but it likely involves sending crafted input to the IOGraphics subsystem through system calls or IOConnect methods, leading to memory corruption.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows the attacker to gain elevated privileges (kernel-level access) or cause a denial of service by crashing the kernel. The memory corruption can be used to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, leading to full system compromise.

Mitigation

Apple addressed this vulnerability in OS X El Capitan v10.11, released on September 30, 2015 [1]. Users should upgrade to OS X 10.11 or later. No workaround is available for unpatched systems. The vulnerability is not listed on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.