An anonymous security researcher claims to have developed a worm capable of
delivering a malicious payload to fully-patched Mac OS X systems.
A
posting
on the
Information
Security Sellout blog insists that the worm proves that
Apple
computers are as vulnerable to malware as Windows-based PCs.
The blog is written by a group of anonymous researchers using the name
'Infosec Sellout'.
The researcher responsible for the post claimed to be developing the worm for
a client, and said that no proof-of-concept or related details will be
published. The author claims that the client does not plan to use the worm for
criminal purposes.
The author has not yet notified Apple of the bug, but plans to contact the
company "eventually".
The vulnerability apparently exploited by the worm lies in OS X's
MDNSResponder networking component.
When exploited, the author claims that the worm has the capability to execute
code at root level, allowing an attacker to install malware on the target
system.
"While it is nothing special compared to Windows-based malware it does prove
a point," wrote the researcher. "Apple computers are just as susceptible to
malware as Windows-based ones."
The Infosec Sellout researcher is not the first person to attempt to prove
such a point.
A virus for
Apple's iChat application first appeared in February 2006, followed by
another
targeting
OS X's Bluetooth software. Nine months later a third virus, dubbed
OSX.Macarena,
was found.
None of these viruses was able to record more than 50 infections, and no
malware installations were ever reported.
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