CVE-2016-1862

Vulnerability

The Intel Graphics Driver component in Apple OS X El Capitan versions 10.11 through 10.11.4 contains a memory corruption issue that leads to the disclosure of kernel memory content. An attacker can exploit this by running a specially crafted application on the system. This vulnerability is distinct from CVE-2016-1860 [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must trick a user into running a malicious application, or have the ability to execute arbitrary code in user space. The crafted app triggers the memory corruption in the Intel Graphics Driver, causing the kernel to leak memory layout information. No additional privileges or network access are required beyond local execution.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows the attacker to obtain sensitive kernel memory-layout information. This disclosure does not directly provide code execution but can be used to bypass kernel address space layout randomization (KASLR) and facilitate further exploitation of other kernel vulnerabilities.

Mitigation

Apple addressed this issue in OS X El Capitan v10.11.5, released on May 18, 2016. Users should update to this version or later via the Mac App Store. No workarounds are documented for unpatched systems.