Detect Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free Vulnerability (CVE-2023-43000) in IBM QRadar
Detects exploitation of CVE-2023-43000, a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) affecting multiple Apple products. This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild. Use-after-free conditions in Apple system components can allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, or achieve kernel-level compromise on affected macOS, iOS, and related platforms.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Privilege Escalation Execution
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(devicetime, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') as event_time,
sourceip,
destinationip,
destinationport,
username,
"Process Name",
"Event Category",
magnitude,
LOGSOURCENAME(logsourceid) as log_source
FROM events
WHERE LOGSOURCETYPENAME(devicetype) IN ('Apple macOS Unified Log', 'CrowdStrike Falcon', 'Jamf Pro')
AND ("Process Name" ILIKE '%ReportCrash%'
OR "Process Name" ILIKE '%osanalyticshelper%'
OR "Process Name" ILIKE '%CrashReporter%'
OR "Event Category" ILIKE '%use-after-free%'
OR "Event Category" ILIKE '%memory corruption%'
OR "Event Category" ILIKE '%segmentation fault%')
AND INCIDR(sourceip, '0.0.0.0/0')
AND NOT INCIDR(destinationip, '10.0.0.0/8')
AND NOT INCIDR(destinationip, '172.16.0.0/12')
AND NOT INCIDR(destinationip, '192.168.0.0/16')
LAST 7 DAYS
ORDER BY devicetime DESCQRadar AQL query identifying Apple macOS crash-related process activity correlated with external network destinations, suggesting potential CVE-2023-43000 exploitation.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Routine macOS crash reporter telemetry sending diagnostics to Apple servers
- Legitimate enterprise MDM communications from Jamf or similar tools
- Security tools performing outbound threat intelligence lookups after detecting crashes
- Software update processes generating crash-like telemetry during patch installation
Other platforms for CVE-2023-43000
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Simulate macOS Use-After-Free Crash with C2-like Network Beacon
Expected signal: Process crash event for python3, EXC_BAD_ACCESS in crash logs, outbound TCP connection to LAB_C2_HOST:4444 from the same host within 10 seconds of crash
- Test 2Invoke CrashReporter from Non-Standard Parent Process
Expected signal: ProcessRollup2 event for ReportCrash with parent_process=bash; crash report file creation in DiagnosticReports directory
- Test 3Mass Crash Generation and External Reachback Simulation
Expected signal: 5 crash report files created in DiagnosticReports, 5 outbound HTTP connections to LAB_C2_HOST:4444 over ~5 seconds
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2023-43000 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.