Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
iOS and OS X Security Flaws Enable Malicious Apps to Steal Passwords and Other Data
A team of six researchers from Indiana University, Georgia Tech and Peking University have published an in-depth report exposing a series of security vulnerabilities that enable sandboxed malicious apps, approved on the App Store, to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data stored in other apps, including iCloud passwords and authentication tokens, Google Chrome saved web passwords and more.
The thirteen-page research paper "Unauthorized Cross-App Resource Access on Mac OS X and iOS" details that inter-app interaction services, ranging from the Keychain and WebSocket on OS X to the URL Scheme on OS X and iOS, can be exploited to steal confidential information and passwords, including those stored in popular password vaults such as 1Password by AgileBits.
Lead researcher Luyi Xing told The Register that he reported the security flaws to Apple in October 2014 and complied with the iPhone maker's request to withhold publishing the information for six months, but has not heard back from the company since and is now exposing the zero-day vulnerabilities to the public. The flaws affect thousands of OS X apps and hundreds of iOS apps and can now be weaponized by attackers.
The thirteen-page research paper "Unauthorized Cross-App Resource Access on Mac OS X and iOS" details that inter-app interaction services, ranging from the Keychain and WebSocket on OS X to the URL Scheme on OS X and iOS, can be exploited to steal confidential information and passwords, including those stored in popular password vaults such as 1Password by AgileBits.
"We completely cracked the keychain service - used to store passwords and other credentials for different Apple apps - and sandbox containers on OS X, and also identified new weaknesses within the inter-app communication mechanisms on OS X and iOS which can be used to steal confidential data from Evernote, Facebook and other high-profile apps."The different cross-app and communication mechanism vulnerabilities discovered on iOS and OS X, identified as XARA weaknesses, include Keychain password stealing, IPC interception, scheme hijacking and container cracking. The affected apps and services include iCloud, Gmail, Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, Chrome, 1Password, Evernote, Pushbullet, Dropbox, Instagram, WhatsApp, Pinterest, Dashlane, AnyDo, Pocket and several others.
Lead researcher Luyi Xing told The Register that he reported the security flaws to Apple in October 2014 and complied with the iPhone maker's request to withhold publishing the information for six months, but has not heard back from the company since and is now exposing the zero-day vulnerabilities to the public. The flaws affect thousands of OS X apps and hundreds of iOS apps and can now be weaponized by attackers.
[ 236 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
52 months ago
I'm a long-time Apple user - and I've near had enough. I have no longer have faith in Apple to protect my data ... Android has had its fair share of problems too, but I just trust the engineers at Google to not let stuff like this happen.
You apparently didn't read this paper because it also mentions similar, significant issues on Android.
Security is hard.
52 months ago
Umm... "... and can now be weaponized by attackers"?? Because the he has made the knowledge of the existence of flaws public? I hope the exact nature of the flaws has been made known to Apple and hope Apple has an official response to this.
Did you read the entire article? It said Apple was told 6 months ago.
52 months ago
I don't get why this security flaws reported to Apple always seems to get the cold shoulder. Fix when El Capitan is released?
Because Federighi, though might be a great guy, is busy making funny videos for Keynotes instead of devoting time to iron out bugs and make the OS X secure. Sadly this seems to be true...
52 months ago
I'm a long-time Apple user - and I've near had enough. I have no longer have faith in Apple to protect my data. Tim Cook can ramble on about privacy all he wants, but we all know that software has never been Apple's strength. It may look pretty, but vulnerabilities like these are becoming all too common. Android has had its fair share of problems too, but I just trust the engineers at Google to not let stuff like this happen. The last major flaw I recall from Android was that random number generator that wasn't implemented correctly and allowed some bitcoin wallets to be hijacked. That was hardly as widespread as this flaw. It's so frustrating.
Apple should have fixed this issue, but I don't see the point in hyperbole: All systems have vulnerabilities and Google / Samsung / Sony / HTC / Apple are all as bad as each other. There's an article on the same website (the register) today about a flaw in the latest Samsung phones that will allow the installation of malware simply by connecting to a compromised WiFi service so it's not been a good day all round for software!
52 months ago
There is no such thing as security from this sort of thing. For every programmer that writes a security program that is supposed to keep our information secure, there is a hacker out there that can decode/hack the program to steal what ever they want.
Apple could come out with a patch today to fix the current problem, but tomorrow someone else finds a way to hack it.
There is no such thing as security.
The main point I see is Apple was given 6 months to fix this and it still exists as a vulnerability in their code base as of today. So what if they fix it today, it darn well should have been fixed 3 months ago and not required a media blasting for Apple to get it done!
52 months ago
There is no such thing as security from this sort of thing. For every programmer that writes a security program that is supposed to keep our information secure, there is a hacker out there that can decode/hack the program to steal what ever they want.
Apple could come out with a patch today to fix the current problem, but tomorrow someone else finds a way to hack it.
There is no such thing as security.
52 months ago
This is probably not get patched for a while,
It looks like Apple is too busy with the Watch!
It looks like Apple is too busy with the Watch!
52 months ago
I don't know how this is a security issue. The Keychain entry explicitly says "Allow access" for both apps.
A 3rd party sandboxed application shouldn't be able to make a keychain entry that a different application can access.[ Read All Comments ]
In iOS 13, Apple has extended the system's built-in screenshot feature to include the ability to save a full web page as a multi-page PDF.
Don't expect this option to appear when...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Twelve South to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a prize pack that includes a BookBook vol. 2 for iPad Pro, an AirFly, and a set of...
O2 has became the latest network carrier in the United Kingdom to offer the cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 4. iPhone users can now order the LTE-enabled smartwatch through the O2 website,...
Unsolicited phone calls can become a regular annoyance and even a cause of stress for many smartphone users these days. Thankfully, Apple provides a feature in iOS 13 that can automatically silence...
The Iconfactory today announced it has released a significant update to its popular third-party Twitter client Twitterrific for iPhone and iPad. The latest version of the app contains over 50 new...
Apple yesterday released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced three years ago in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to...
Amazon and B&H Photo are discounting the latest versions of Apple's iPad Air this week, with each configuration of the tablet receiving a new all-time-low price tag. Amazon offers the largest...
Spotify today announced a new version of the "Your Library" tab in its mobile apps for iOS and Android, which is "designed to get you to the content you want faster." This update is...
