Apple WebCore XMLHttpRequest fails to properly serialize headers into an HTTP request

Overview

Apple WebCore fails to properly serialize headers into an HTTP request, which can cause a cross-domain security violation.

Description

Apple WebCore is one of the components of the WebKit web browser engine that is used by Safari, Dashboard, Mail, and other applications. WebCore provides support for the XMLHttpRequest object, which allows dynamic HTML and XML functionality. XMLHttpRequest in WebCore fails to properly serialize headers when creating an HTTP request, which can lead to a cross-domain violation.

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Impact

By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page, an HTML email message, or an email attachment), an attacker may be able to execute script or obtain full access to content in a different domain. The impact is similar to that of a cross-site scripting vulnerability. This includes the ability to spoof or modify web content, access website information such as cookies, or retrieve data from an encrypted HTTPS connection. For a more detailed description of the impact of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, please see CERT Advisory CA-2000-02.

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Solution

Apply an update

This issue is addressed by Apple Security Update 2007-006 .

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Disable JavaScript

This vulnerability can be mitigated in Safari by disabling JavaScript. Guidelines for setting preferences in Safari can be found in the “Securing Your Web Browser” document. Note that other applications that use Apple WebCore may still be at risk after making this change.

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Vendor Information

845708

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Apple Computer, Inc. __ Affected

Updated: June 22, 2007

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

We have not received a statement from the vendor.

Vendor Information

The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.

Addendum

This issue is addressed by Apple Security Update 2007-006.

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us [email](<mailto:[email protected]?Subject=VU%23845708 Feedback>).

CVSS Metrics

Group	Score	Vector
Base
Temporal
Environmental

References

• <http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/#Safari&gt;
• <http://developer.apple.com/opensource/internet/webkit.html&gt;
• <http://developer.apple.com/internet/webcontent/xmlhttpreq.html&gt;
• <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305759&gt;
• <http://www.westpoint.ltd.uk/advisories/wp-07-0002.txt&gt;
• <http://secunia.com/advisories/25786/&gt;
• <http://secunia.com/advisories/26287/&gt;

Acknowledgements

This vulnerability was reported by Apple, who in turn credit Richard Moore of Westpoint Ltd.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

CVE IDs:	CVE-2007-2401
Severity Metric:	0.57 Date Public: