CVE-2017-2488 – CVE-2017-2488 is a cryptographic weakness in Ap... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2017-2488?

CVE-2017-2488 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). CVE-2017-2488 is a cryptographic weakness in Apple Remote Desktop's authentication protocol that allowed attackers to capture cleartext passwords during authentication. This affected Apple Remote Desktop users on macOS systems. The vulnerability was fixed by implementing the Secure Remote Password authentication protocol.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2017-2488 is a cryptographic weakness in Apple Remote Desktop's authentication protocol that allowed attackers to capture cleartext passwords during authentication. This affected Apple Remote Desktop users on macOS systems. The vulnerability was fixed by implementing the Secure Remote Password authentication protocol.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Apple Remote Desktop

Versions: Versions before 3.9

Operating Systems: macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects all configurations using Apple Remote Desktop authentication before version 3.9.

📦 What is this software?

Remote Desktop by Apple

View all CVEs affecting Remote Desktop →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Attackers intercept authentication traffic and obtain cleartext administrator passwords, leading to complete system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Network-based attackers capture passwords and gain unauthorized access to remote desktop sessions.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper network segmentation and monitoring, impact is limited to isolated systems.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - Remote Desktop services exposed to internet are vulnerable to password interception.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal attackers or compromised systems could exploit this on local networks.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires network access to intercept authentication traffic.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Apple Remote Desktop 3.9

Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207622

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open App Store on macOS. 2. Click Updates tab. 3. Install Apple Remote Desktop 3.9 update. 4. Restart system after installation.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Apple Remote Desktop

all

Temporarily disable Apple Remote Desktop service until patched.

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -deactivate -configure -access -off

Use VPN for Remote Access

all

Require VPN connection before allowing Remote Desktop access.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Segment network to isolate Remote Desktop traffic from untrusted networks
Implement network monitoring for authentication traffic interception attempts

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Apple Remote Desktop version in System Preferences > Sharing > Remote Management > Options

Check Version:

defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist Version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version shows 3.9 or higher in Remote Management options

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Failed authentication attempts from unexpected locations
Multiple authentication requests from same source

Network Indicators:

Unencrypted authentication traffic on port 3283
ARP spoofing or MITM activity on network

SIEM Query:

source_port:3283 AND protocol:TCP AND (event_type:auth_failed OR packet_size:<100)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2017-2488

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CWE: CWE-327

Published: December 23, 2021

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207622 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207622 Vendor Advisory

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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