📄 Description (English)
Apple OS X Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability — Heap-based buffer overflow in IOHIDFamily in Apple OS X, which affects, iOS before 8 and Apple TV before 7, allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2014-4404 is a critical heap-based buffer overflow in Apple's IOHIDFamily affecting OS X, iOS before 8, and Apple TV before 7. With a CVSS score of 9.0 and publicly available exploits, this vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. While this is a legacy vulnerability from 2014, organizations in Saudi Arabia still using older Apple devices or unpatched systems face immediate risk of complete system compromise.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Mar 22, 2026 07:34
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations still operating legacy Apple infrastructure. Banking sector institutions under SAMA oversight using older iOS devices for mobile banking applications face potential data breaches and unauthorized financial transactions. Government entities under NCA jurisdiction with unpatched Apple devices risk complete system compromise and data exfiltration. Healthcare organizations using older iPads for patient data management violate NCA-HIPAA requirements if devices remain unpatched. Energy sector companies like ARAMCO and telecom providers like STC/Mobily using Apple devices in BYOD programs face insider threat escalation. Educational institutions in Vision 2030 digital transformation initiatives using older Apple TV or iOS devices in classrooms create attack vectors for privilege escalation.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking
Government
Healthcare
Energy
Telecommunications
Education
Retail
Transportation
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.8
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Conduct emergency asset inventory to identify all Apple devices running iOS versions below 8.0, OS X systems before security update 2014-004, and Apple TV before version 7.0
2. Isolate vulnerable devices from production networks immediately — place in quarantine VLAN with restricted internet access
3. Disable HID (Human Interface Device) services on vulnerable systems if business operations permit
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
4. Update all iOS devices to iOS 8.0 or later (current recommendation: iOS 12+ for devices that support it, or replace devices that cannot update)
5. Apply OS X Security Update 2014-004 or upgrade to OS X Yosemite (10.10) or later
6. Update Apple TV to version 7.0 or later
7. For devices that cannot be updated, implement immediate decommissioning plan
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching not immediately possible):
8. Deploy network segmentation to isolate vulnerable Apple devices from critical systems
9. Implement strict application whitelisting to prevent exploit delivery
10. Enable enhanced logging for all HID-related events and monitor for anomalous activity
11. Restrict USB and Bluetooth connectivity on vulnerable devices
12. Deploy mobile device management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies
DETECTION RULES:
13. Monitor for kernel panics or unexpected system crashes on Apple devices
14. Alert on privilege escalation attempts from user-space to kernel-space
15. Detect abnormal IOHIDFamily process behavior using EDR solutions
16. Implement SIEM correlation rules for exploitation indicators: unexpected code execution from HID drivers, memory corruption patterns
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. إجراء جرد طارئ للأصول لتحديد جميع أجهزة Apple التي تعمل بإصدارات iOS أقل من 8.0، وأنظمة OS X قبل التحديث الأمني 2014-004، و Apple TV قبل الإصدار 7.0
2. عزل الأجهزة المعرضة للخطر من شبكات الإنتاج فوراً — وضعها في VLAN للحجر الصحي مع وصول محدود للإنترنت
3. تعطيل خدمات HID على الأنظمة المعرضة للخطر إذا سمحت العمليات التجارية بذلك
إرشادات التصحيح:
4. تحديث جميع أجهزة iOS إلى iOS 8.0 أو أحدث (التوصية الحالية: iOS 12+ للأجهزة التي تدعمه، أو استبدال الأجهزة التي لا يمكن تحديثها)
5. تطبيق التحديث الأمني OS X 2014-004 أو الترقية إلى OS X Yosemite (10.10) أو أحدث
6. تحديث Apple TV إلى الإصدار 7.0 أو أحدث
7. للأجهزة التي لا يمكن تحديثها، تنفيذ خطة إيقاف تشغيل فورية
الضوابط التعويضية (إذا لم يكن التصحيح ممكناً فوراً):
8. نشر تجزئة الشبكة لعزل أجهزة Apple المعرضة للخطر عن الأنظمة الحرجة
9. تنفيذ قائمة بيضاء صارمة للتطبيقات لمنع تسليم الاستغلال
10. تمكين التسجيل المحسّن لجميع الأحداث المتعلقة بـ HID ومراقبة النشاط الشاذ
11. تقييد اتصال USB و Bluetooth على الأجهزة المعرضة للخطر
12. نشر حلول إدارة الأجهزة المحمولة (MDM) لفرض سياسات الأمان
قواعد الكشف:
13. مراقبة حالات الذعر في النواة أو أعطال النظام غير المتوقعة على أجهزة Apple
14. التنبيه على محاولات تصعيد الامتيازات من مساحة المستخدم إلى مساحة النواة
15. اكتشاف سلوك عملية IOHIDFamily غير الطبيعي باستخدام حلول EDR
16. تنفيذ قواعد ارتباط SIEM لمؤشرات الاستغلال: تنفيذ تعليمات برمجية غير متوقعة من برامج تشغيل HID، أنماط تلف الذاكرة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC-1-2: Asset Management — inventory and lifecycle management of Apple devices
ECC-3-1: Vulnerability Management — patch management for critical vulnerabilities
ECC-4-1: System Hardening — secure configuration of mobile devices
ECC-5-1: Network Security — segmentation of vulnerable systems
ECC-6-1: Logging and Monitoring — detection of exploitation attempts
ECC-13-1: Mobile Device Security — MDM implementation and BYOD controls
🔵 SAMA CSF
CYB-TVM-1.1: Vulnerability Assessment and Management
CYB-AST-1.2: Asset Inventory and Classification
CYB-NET-1.3: Network Segmentation for mobile banking infrastructure
CYB-MON-1.1: Security Monitoring and Event Logging
CYB-IRP-1.1: Incident Response for critical vulnerabilities
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.1.1: Inventory of assets
A.12.6.1: Management of technical vulnerabilities
A.12.6.2: Restrictions on software installation
A.13.1.3: Segregation in networks
A.6.2.1: Mobile device policy
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 5: Protect all systems against malware
Requirement 6.2: Ensure all systems are protected from known vulnerabilities
Requirement 11.2: Run internal and external network vulnerability scans
Requirement 2.2: Develop configuration standards for mobile payment devices
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Apple:OS X