Multiple Vulnerabilities in Apple Mac OS X

Question

Every few months, somebody (with a PC) emails me one of notices.
I assume Apple does their security updates othen enough to take care of this. Or am I wrong?
Who makes these notices?
What should I do when I get one of these notices?
Here's THe whole EMAIL:
Multiple Vulnerabilities in Apple Mac OS X
Multiple Vulnerabilities in Apple Mac OS X. The full text of the document is
provided below.
Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations
U N C L A S S I F I E D
Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) Information Assurance
Vulnerability Technical Advisory
Title: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Apple Mac OS X
References:
Security Focus
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/22948
STIG Finding Severity: Category I
CVE:
CVE-2005-2959
CVE-2006-0225
CVE-2006-0300
CVE-2006-1516
CVE-2006-1517
CVE-2006-2753
CVE-2006-3081
CVE-2006-3469
CVE-2006-4031
CVE-2006-4226
CVE-2006-4829
CVE-2006-4924
CVE-2006-5051
CVE-2006-5052
CVE-2006-5330
CVE-2006-5679
CVE-2006-5836
CVE-2006-6061
CVE-2006-6062
CVE-2006-6097
CVE-2006-6129
CVE-2006-6130
CVE-2006-6173
CVE-2007-0229
CVE-2007-0236
CVE-2007-0267
CVE-2007-0299
CVE-2007-0318
CVE-2007-0463
CVE-2007-0467
CVE-2007-0588
CVE-2007-0719
CVE-2007-0720
CVE-2007-0721
CVE-2007-0722
CVE-2007-0723
CVE-2007-0724
CVE-2007-0728
CVE-2007-0726
CVE-2007-0730
CVE-2007-0731
CVE-2007-0733
CVE-2007-1071
Executive Summary:
There are multiple vulnerabilities affecting Apple Mac Operating System
(OS) X and various Apple applications running on Mac OS X. Mac OS X is a
proprietary operating system developed and sold by Apple Computer, Inc.,
that is included with all currently shipped Apple Macintosh computers.
Mac OS X Server is architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart and
usually runs on Apple's line of Macintosh server hardware. It includes
workgroup management and administration software tools that provide
simplified access to key network services, including a mail server, a
directory server, and a domain name server. Apple Mac OS X is Apple's latest
OS software architecture. These vulnerabilities exist due to unchecked
buffers, error conditions, and incorrect security settings in the software.
Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote attacker
to execute arbitrary code, access or modify arbitrary data, escalation of
privileges or cause denial of service conditions.
Technical Overview:
There are thirty vulnerabilities affecting Apple Mac Operating System OS X
and various Apple applications running on Mac OS X addressed in this latest
release. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by enticing a user
to use a maliciously crafted website, image, program, or code; or by making
use of known implementation flaws. Results of an attacker exploiting any of
these vulnerabilities include the execution of arbitrary code, triggering a
Denial of Service (DoS), or elevation of user privileges.
The following specific vulnerabilities affecting Apple Mac OS X:
ColorSync Profile Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0719 A stack buffer overflow
exists in the handling of embedded ColorSync profiles. By enticing a user to
open a maliciously-crafted image, an attacker can trigger the overflow,
which may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code
execution. This update performs additional validation of ColorSync profiles.
Crash Reporter Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0467 Crash Reporter uses an
admin-writable system directory to store logs of processes that have been
unexpectedly terminated. A malicious process running as an admin can cause
these logs to be written to arbitrary files as root, which could result in
the execution of commands with elevated privileges. This update performs
additional validation prior to writing to log files.
CUPS Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0720
A partially-negotiated SSL connection with the CUPS service may prevent
other requests from being served until the connection is closed. Remote
attackers may cause a denial of service during SSL negotiation This update
implements timeouts during SSL negotiation.
Disk Images-Helper Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0721 A memory corruption
vulnerability exists in diskimages-helper. By enticing a user to open a
maliciously-crafted compressed disk image, an attacker could trigger this
issue which may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary
code execution. Mounting a maliciously-crafted disk image may lead to an
unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update
performs additional validation of disk images.
AppleSingleEnding Disk Images Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0722 An integer
overflow vulnerability exists in the handler for AppleSingleEncoding disk
images. By enticing a local user to open a maliciously-crafted disk image,
an attacker could trigger the overflow which may lead to an unexpected
application termination or arbitrary code execution. Mounting a
maliciously-crafted AppleSingleEncoding disk image may lead to an unexpected
application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update performs
additional validation of AppleSingleEncoding disk images.
Multiple Malicious Disk Image Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-6061,
CVE-2006-6062, CVE-2006-5679, CVE-2007-0229, CVE-2007-0267,
CVE-2007-0299
Several vulnerabilities exist in the processing of maliciously-crafted disk
images that may lead to an unexpected termination of system operations or
arbitrary code execution. Since a disk image may be automatically mounted
when visiting web sites, this allows a malicious web site to cause a denial
of service. This update performs additional validation of downloaded disk
images prior to mounting them.
Directory Service (DS) Plug-In Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0723 An
implementation flaw in DirectoryService allows an unprivileged LDAP user to
change the local root password. The authentication mechanism in
DirectoryService has been fixed in this release.
Flash Player Vulnerability - CVE-2006-5330 Adobe Flash Player is updated to
version 9.0.28.0 to fix a potential vulnerability that could allow HTTP
request splitting attacks. This is accomplished by playing a
maliciously-crafted Flash content on a vulnerable system. This issue is
described as APSB06-18 on the Adobe web site at
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/
Multiple GNU Tar Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-0300, CVE-2006-6097 One GNU TAR
vulnerability involves a buffer overflow, which allows user-assisted
attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly
execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors involving PAX extended
headers. The second GNU TAR vulnerability allows user-assisted attackers to
overwrite arbitrary files via a tar file that contains a GNUTYPE_NAMES
record with a symbolic link. This record is not properly handled by the
extract_archive function in extract.c and
extract_mangle function in mangle.c.
HFS+ Filesystem Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0318
An HFS+ filesystem in a mounted disk image can be constructed to trigger a
kernel panic (denial of service) when attempting to remove a file from a
mounted filesystem. This update performs additional validation of the
HFS+ filesystem.
IOKit HID Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0724 Insufficient controls in the IOKit
HID interface allow any logged in user to capture console keystrokes,
including passwords and other sensitive information of other users on a
local system. This update limits HID device events to processes belonging to
the current console user.
ImageIO GIF Vulnerability - CVE-2007-1071 An integer overflow vulnerability
exists in the process of handling GIF files. By enticing a user to open a
maliciously-crafted image, an attacker can trigger the overflow which may
lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.
This issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4.
ImageIO Raw Images Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0733 A memory corruption issue
exists in the process of handling RAW images.
By enticing a user to open a maliciously-crafted RAW image, an attacker can
trigger the issue which may lead to an unexpected application termination or
arbitrary code execution. This update performs additional validation of RAW
images. This issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4.
Kernel Vulnerability via fpathconf() System Call - CVE-2006-5836 Malicious
local users may be able to cause a denial of service by using the
fpathconf() system call on certain file types. The result of this action
would be a kernel panic (denial of service). This update improves the
handling for all kernel defined file types.
Kernel Vulnerability via Universal Mach-O Binaries - CVE-2006-6129 An
integer overflow vulnerability exists in the loading of maliciously-crafted
Universal Mach-O binaries. This could allow a malicious local user to cause
a kernel panic, an arbitrary code execution, or the elevation of system
privileges. This update performs additional validation of Universal
binaries.
Kernel Vulnerability via sharedregion_make_privatenp() System Call -
CVE-2006-6173
The sharedregion_make_privatenp() system call allows a maliciously-crafted
program to request a large allocation of kernel memory. This could allow a
malicious local user to cause a system hang.
This issue does not allow an integer overflow to occur, and it cannot lead
to arbitrary code execution. This update incorporates additional validation
of the arguments passed to sharedregion_make_privatenp().
Multiple MySQL Server Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-1516, CVE-2006-1517,
CVE-2006-2753, CVE-2006-3081, CVE-2006-4031, CVE-2006-4226,
CVE-2006-3469
Multiple vulnerabilities exist in MySQL which could be exploited by
attackers making use of known system flaws via specially crafted codes.
In addition to being able to execute arbitrary code, the attacker could also
exploit these vulnerabilities causing a denial of service or buffer
over-read; obtaining sensitive information; and creating/accessing a
database.
Networking Vulnerability via AppleTalk Protocol Handler - CVE-2006-6130 A
memory corruption issue exists in the AppleTalk protocol handler. This could
allow a malicious local user to cause a kernel panic, or gain system
privileges to execute arbitrary code. This update performs additional
validation of the input data structures.
Networking Vulnerability via AppleTalk Requests - CVE-2007-0236 A heap
buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the AppleTalk protocol handler. By
sending a maliciously-crafted request, a local user can trigger the overflow
which may lead to a denial of service or arbitrary code execution. This
update performs additional validation of the input data.
OpenSSH Keys Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0726 A remote attacker can destroy
established trust between SSH hosts by causing SSH Keys to be regenerated.
SSH keys are created on a server when the first SSH connection is
established. An attacker connecting to the server before SSH has finished
creating the keys could force the keys then to be recreated. This could
result in a denial of service against processes that rely on a trust
relationship with the server.
Systems that already have SSH enabled and have rebooted at least once are
not vulnerable to this issue. This issue is addressed by improving the SSH
key generation process. This issue is specific to the Apple implementation
of OpenSSH.
Multiple OpenSSH Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-0225, CVE-2006-4924,
CVE-2006-5051, CVE-2006-5052 Multiple vulnerabilities exist in OpenSSH, to
include compilation and faulty authentication errors. An attacker could use
these vulnerabilities in specially crafted codes/commands to cause the
execution of arbitrary code, or a denial of service.
USB Printing Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0728 Insecure file operations may
occur during the initialization of a USB printer. An unprivileged attacker
with system privileges may leverage this issue to create or overwrite
arbitrary files on the system. This update improves the printer
initialization process.
QuickDraw PICT Image Processing Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0588 A heap buffer
overflow vulnerability exists in QuickDraw's PICT image processing. By
enticing a user to open a maliciously-crafted PICT image, an attacker can
trigger the overflow which may lead to an unexpected application termination
or arbitrary code execution. This update performs additional validation of
PICT files.
servermgrd Authentication Credentials Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0730 An issue
in Server Manager's validation of authentication credentials could allow a
remote attacker without valid credentials to alter the system configuration.
This update addresses the issue by additional validation of authentication
credentials.
SMB File Server Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0731 A stack-based buffer overflow
in the Apple-specific Samba module (SMB File Server) allows a user with
write access to an SMB share to execute arbitrary code via a long ACLA file
with an overly-long ACL. This could lead to a denial of service or arbitrary
code execution. This update performs additional validation of ACLs. This
issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4.
Software Update Application Vulnerability - CVE-2007-0463 A format string
vulnerability exists in the Software Update application.
By enticing a user to download and open a maliciously-crafted Software
Update Catalog file, an attacker can trigger the vulnerability which may
lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.
This update removes document bindings for Software Update Catalogs. This
issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4.
sudo Configuration Vulnerability - CVE-2005-2959 A user-modified sudo
configuration could allow environment variables to be passed through to the
program running as a privileged user. If sudo is configured to allow an
otherwise unprivileged user to execute a given bash script with elevated
privileges, the user may be able to execute arbitrary code with elevated
privileges. Systems with the default sudo configuration are not vulnerable
to this issue. This issue has been addressed by updating sudo to 1.6.8p12.
Further information is available via the sudo web site at
http://www.sudo.ws/sudo/current.html
Blojsom WebLog Vulnerability - CVE-2006-4829 A cross-site scripting
vulnerability exists in Blojsom. This allows remote attackers to inject
JavaScript into blog content that will execute in the domain of the Blojsom
server. This update performs additional validation of the user input. This
issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.4.
Vulnerable Applications/Systems and Countermeasures:
Vulnerable applications/systems with fixes available:
Compliance is RECOMMENDED. Although this notice is a Technical Advisory,
Systems Administrators should strongly consider implementing these updates.
Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.0
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.1
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.2
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.3
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.4
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.5
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.6
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.7
Apple Mac OS X 10.4.8
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.3.9
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.0
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.1
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.2
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.3
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.4
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.5
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.6
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.7
Apple Mac OS X Server 10.4.8
Temporary Mitigation Strategies
None
Vulnerable applications/systems with no patches available, vendor temporary
recommended mitigations available:
Permanent fixes are not available. Temporary mitigations have been provided
to protect vulnerable systems until permanent patches are available.
Administrators should consider using the temporary mitigations provided or
develop local strategies to protect vulnerable systems from attack.
None
Vulnerable applications/systems with no patch or temporary recommended
mitigations:
There are no patches or temporary mitigations available. Administrators
should consider developing strategies to protect vulnerable systems based on
local mission requirements and operational impact. As patches or workarounds
become available the status will be upgraded to "Fix available" or
"Mitigation Available".
None
Unsupported Software:
Mac OS X versions prior to 10.3.9

Answer 1

Who's sending you these emails and why? It sounds like a Windows apologist with an inferiority complex trying to make OS X look bad. The facts are that there are no viruses or malware in the wild at this time actively compromising OS X users. Discovered flaws and vulnerabilities do not immediately translate into active malware on OS X like they do on Windows. Apple releases security updates on a regular basis. The recent OS X 10.4.9 update, for example, provided fixes for some 45 known security issues. OS X is by no means a perfect piece of code but you are infinitely safer on the internet using OS X than you are using any version of Windows, including the new Vista.
As to who makes these notices there are security researchers and companies whose job it is to find and report security flaws in any operating system or application they choose to inspect. They provide a valuable service to companies like Apple and Microsoft in helping them close holes in their software.
CVE stands for "Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures" and is a standardized way of cataloging security issues. CVE is supported by CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) which in turn is supported by the Federal Government and the Department of Homeland Security.
Here is the web site link...
http://cve.mitre.org/about/
The best response when you get one of these emails is to do nothing. Instead, keep your system current and up-to-date with all security updates and OS X updates released by Apple. And above all, don't worry.
Dual 2.5GHz G5 Power Macintosh   Mac OS X (10.4.9)