SSL vulnerability that's been patched in iOS -- but not yet for OS X -- lets attackers intercept email and FaceTime communications, plus push malicious software updates

Mathew J. Schwartz, Contributor

February 25, 2014

1 Min Read

The SSL vulnerability that affects iOS devices, as well as desktops and laptops that run the Apple OS X operating system, is easy to exploit and likely already being actively targeted by attackers.

So said New Zealand security researcher Aldo Cortesi, who reported Tuesday that he successfully adapted a free man-in-the-middle proxy tool called mitmproxy -- which is designed to intercept, modify, and replay HTTP and HTTP traffic -- to exploit the SSL flaw.

"I've confirmed full transparent interception of HTTPS traffic on both iOS (prior to 7.0.6) and OS X Mavericks. Nearly all encrypted traffic, including usernames, passwords, and even Apple app updates can be captured," according to a blog post from Cortesi, who promised to not release his SSL-attack tweaks for mitmproxy until after Apple releases an OS X patch.

Read the full article here.

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About the Author(s)

Mathew J. Schwartz

Contributor

Mathew Schwartz served as the InformationWeek information security reporter from 2010 until mid-2014.

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