New Apple iOS Already Vulnerable To Jailbreaking Hacks

The brand new security update Apple issued Friday for its iOS is already vulnerable to a jailbreaking hack.

Hackers at Redmond Pie outlined details of the Pwn tool allowing users to jailbreak the latest iOS, version 4.3.4 . However, one mitigating factor is that the jailbreak hack does not apply to the iPad 2.

Jailbreaking allows users to circumvent security mechanisms in Apple’s mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads running iOS, to run applications not authorized by Apple’s App Store.

“Apple has just pushed out iOS 4.3.4 for the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch. And thankfully, we have cooked custom PwnageTool bundles which allows you to jailbreak any device (except for iPad 2) running iOS 4.3.4, and at the same time preserve your baseband for an Ultrasn0w unlock later on,” said Redmond Pie’s Uzair Ghani in a blog post.

Thus far the jailbreak is tethered, indicating that users will need to reboot their iOS device by physically connecting it to their computer in order to maintain the jailbroken state.

“No matter how annoying it may sound, it’s better than having no jailbreak at all,” Ghani said.

The latest jailbreaking hack was revealed Friday, the same day Apple issued a security update repairing a critical PDF flaw in the mobile Safari browser that left devices, such as iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, running on its iOS, susceptible to attack.

The update repaired the PDF flaw, which stemmed from a buffer overflow issue occurring in the way the iOS parses fonts in Apple’s mobile Safari browser. The update also patched another vulnerability in the iOS, which allowed hackers to bypass Apple’s ASLR (address space layout randomization), a security feature that involves random position arrangement of key data areas that make it more challenging for hackers to predict target addresses and launch attacks.

However, in addition to enabling jailbreaking hacks, researchers at Germany’s security agency, known as BSI, found that the PDF vulnerability also could be used by cyber criminals to distribute malware via users’ iPhones, iPads and iPod touches .

The iOS PDF flaw became widely publicized after hackers disclosed the latest release of the JailbreakMe framework, version 3.0, on the JailbreakMe Web site.

In an attack scenario, cyber criminals could create a malicious PDF distributed via a link embedded over e-mail or social networking site.

Apple Plugs 48 Security Holes in Safari Browser | threatpost

Apple has shipped new versions of its Safari browser with patches for at least 48 security vulnerabilities.

The Safari 4.1 and 5.0 updates, considered "highly critical," is available for both Windows and Mac OS X.  Exploitation of some of these vulnerabilities could lead to drive-by download (remote code execution) attacks.

The majority of the documented vulnerabilities affected WebKit, the open-source Web browser engine that powers Safari.

Here's the skinny on some of the more critical issues:

ColorSync (CVE-2009-1726) -- A heap buffer overflow exists in the handling of images with an embedded ColorSync profile. Opening a maliciously crafted image with an embedded ColorSync profile may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. Safari (CVE-2010-1384) -- Safari supports the inclusion of user information in URLs, which allows the URL to specify a username and password to authenticate the user to the named server. These URLs are often used to confuse users, which can potentially aid phishing attacks. Safari (CVE-2010-1385) -- A use after free issue exists in Safari's handling of PDF files. Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. Safari (CVE-2010-1750) -- A use after free issue exists in Safari's management of windows. Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. WebKit (CVE-2010-1392) -- A use after free issue exists in WebKit's rendering of HTML buttons. Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.  WebKit (CVE-2010-1119) -- A use after free issue exists in WebKit's handling of attribute manipulation. Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. WebKit (CVE-2010-1422) -- An implementation issue exists in WebKit's handling of keyboard focus. If the keyboard focus changes during the processing of key presses, WebKit may deliver an event to the newly-focused frame, instead of the frame that had focus when the key press occurred. A maliciously crafted website may be able to manipulate a user into taking an unexpected action, such as initiating a purchase.

Safari 5.0 and Safari 4.1 address the same set of security issues.

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