Software Engineering Institute

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.

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.

Apply an update

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

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.