Speaking to a publication, Apple confirmed that it has knowledge of the vulnerabilities that the Xara exploit It takes advantage of both iOS and OS X so that it can install malicious software and even steal personal information. This is achieved thanks to malicious third-party software that is installed if we do not have the option to install only software identified by developers activated, for this reason it can intercept data that is transferred between applications within the sandbox, including sensitive information such as passwords and passwords. authentication.
«At the beginning of this week we have implemented a server application security update It protects application data and blocks applications with sandbox configuration problems in the Mac App Store. We have other fixes to apply in the pipeline and we are working with investigators to locate each and every threat, ”said an Apple spokesperson.
The vulnerabilities were discovered last year by a team of researchers working between the Indiana University, Georgia Tech and Beijing University in China. Later these professionals informed Apple of their findings in October last year, however Apple asked them for more details of those discoveries and that they be hidden for at least six months until they can be solved.
As explained in the research paper, which was published this week, malicious apps take advantage of bugs in the way that OS X and iOS move and store data between applications. In the case of OS X, the potential malware downloaded from the App Store is capable of accessing and modifying the Keychains database and the corresponding identifications, to give remote access to an attacker. Other possible attacks involve WebSockets and URL schemes.
While the threat is very real, some news outlets may they have overrated XARA danger. In order to implement a solution, Apple and the developers need to rework the data manipulation methods with more stringent protocols.