n.runs AG
http://www.nruns.com/                             security(at)nruns.com
n.runs-SA-2009.006                                          23-Jun-2009
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Vendor:                Apple Inc., http://www.apple.com
Affected Products:     Safari Browser 3.2.3 all platforms
Vulnerability:         Null pointer dereference lead to DoS 
Risk:                  MEDIUM
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Vendor communication:

2009/06/07    Bug found
2009/06/08    Preparing PoC's and problem description for three bug 
              classes (n.runs-SA-2009.004 - n.runs-SA-2009.006); 
              writing initial email
2009/06/08    Apple releases Safari 4.0 [1]
2009/06/09    Sending initial email in midnight hour (UTC/GMT +2 hours)
2009/06/09    Bot reply mail delivered; received Follow-Up ID
2009/06/09    Due to a press release n.runs is now aware of new release;
              testing three PoC's; two of them seems to be fixed
2009/06/10    Apple replies and outlining "to take any report of a 
              potential security issue very seriously." Asking for PoC's
2009/06/10    Sending all PoC's with further description and outlining
              at the time of writing the initial email, n.runs was aware
              of new Safari release. Two PoC's (n.runs-SA-2009.005 and 
              n.runs-SA-2009.006) are not working with new Safari 
              release but asking to have a closer look into it.  
2009/06/11    Apple response two PoC's are not working on the latest 
              release, so Apple don't see the need for any further 
              action. With regards to n.runs-SA-2009.004, Apple 
              acknowledge the issue still affects Safari 4 and is 
              looking to fix it.
2009/06/15    n.runs informs Apple to release this advisory             
              due to time difference                    
2009/06/23    n.runs releases this advisory

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Overview:

Quoting http://www.apple.com/safari/:
"What is Safari ?
It's a browser. It's a platform. It's an open invitation to innovate. 
Whether on a Mac, PC, iPhone, or iPod touch, Safari continuously 
redefines the browser, providing the most enjoyable way to experience 
the Internet."



Description:

A Null Class Pointer Dereference in CoreFoundation.dll has been found
while parsing a URL fragment with a high-bit character in a common 
protocol handler.

In detail, the following flaw was determined:

- Safari crashes in method CFCharacterSetInitInlineBuffer because the 
  first passed pointer argument (stored in ecx) was not sanized. 
  Hence dereferencing a null pointer Sarafi will crash.

  Excerpt from stack trace:
    CoreFoundation!CFCharacterSetInitInlineBuffer+0x357
    CoreFoundation!CFURLCopyFileSystemPath+0xf3
    CoreFoundation!CFURLGetWideFileSystemRepresentation+0x23
    CFNetwork!CFHTTPMessageSendRequest+0x6e4
    CFNetwork!CFHTTPMessageSendRequest+0x96e
    CFNetwork!CFHTTPMessageSendRequest+0xad2
    CFNetwork!CFURLConnectionSendSynchronousRequest+0x8d7
    CFNetwork!CFStreamErrorFromCFError+0x9a0
    ntdll!RtlpAllocateFromHeapLookaside+0x42
    ntdll!RtlAllocateHeap+0x1c2


Impact

An attacker could trigger the vulnerability by constructing a specially
prepared website. When a user views the web page an unexpected 
application termination occurs. 
Kindly note: Whether this circumstance leads to an exploitable condition 
             was not closer investigated. 



Solution:

Apple has issued an update to correct this vulnerability.
For detailed information about the fixes follow the link in
References [1] section of this document.

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Credit: 
Bugs found by Alexios Fakos of n.runs AG. 
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References: 
[1] http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3613

This Advisory and Upcoming Advisories:
http://www.nruns.com/security_advisory.php
_______________________________________________________________________

Unaltered electronic reproduction of this advisory is permitted. For 
all other reproduction or publication, in printing or otherwise, 
contact security@nruns.com for permission. Use of the advisory 
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are excluded. In no event shall n.runs be liable for any damages 
whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential loss 
of business profits or special damages, even if n.runs has been advised
of the possibility of such damages. 

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