CVE-2019-8519

Vulnerability

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in macOS Mojave versions prior to 10.14.4. The issue occurs due to insufficient bounds checking, allowing an application to read restricted memory. This affects systems running macOS Mojave 10.14.3 and earlier. The fix is included in macOS Mojave 10.14.4, released on March 25, 2019 [1].

Exploitation

An attacker would need to have the ability to run a malicious application on the targeted macOS system. No special network position or user interaction beyond launching the app is required. The application can trigger the out-of-bounds read by exploiting the flawed bounds checking, potentially accessing kernel or other process memory regions.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows the application to read restricted memory, leading to unauthorized information disclosure. This could expose sensitive data such as cryptographic keys, passwords, or other confidential information stored in memory. The attacker gains no direct code execution or privilege escalation from this read alone, but the leaked information could be used in further attacks.

Mitigation

Update to macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later. Apple released this fix on March 25, 2019. Users with affected versions should apply the update immediately through Software Update or by downloading the standalone installer. No workaround is available for users unable to update; the only mitigation is to avoid running untrusted applications.