
Exploit to get root on OS X 10.10 fits in a tweet - odedgolan
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/
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yAnonymous
"Introducing a new command line feature to restore access after losing your
password"...

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madeofpalk
I know you're making a joke, but it's trivially easy to reset the admin
password on a computer.

[https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4101](https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4101)

~~~
cjg_
Enabling FileVault is an easy countermeasure.

~~~
justizin
How so? FileVault is typically not tied to the root password, but to a primary
user's password, which you don't even need root to change.

~~~
iancarroll
You cannot reset any user password on a FileVault disk because it's encrypted.

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nchelluri
I like to think of this as a good example of why not to use curl to execute
bash scripts.

    
    
      curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nchelluri/rootyourself/master/doh.sh | bash

~~~
kevan
If you'd like to force yourself to at least look at a script before piping it
in, there's shed [0]

[0] [https://github.com/mplewis/shed](https://github.com/mplewis/shed)

~~~
qnaal
or vipe [http://joeyh.name/code/moreutils/](http://joeyh.name/code/moreutils/)

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roflchoppa
I always get bummed out over @i0n1c's tweets, so many security issues that are
just ignored by apple.

Anyone have stats on # of exploits per type of OS X. I would want to see how
many known security updates were pushed during 10.6 era vs now. At least in
the 10.6 era, the OS you were using ( if it was a previous generation) was
still getting security updates.

~~~
j42
It's really upsetting and ousting Forstall did nothing to revive or unify the
iOS/OSX teams...

And it's easy to gloss over these issues when they're crafted into such a
carefully and intentionally designed piece of modern art -- except many of the
core libraries sitting atop that hardware are where such quality has been
overlooked. I think that's the antithesis of the philosophy of 'detail' that
arguably brought apple back from the brink last time...

Usability and simplifying processes is _great_ and all, but if enough of these
issues seep in it could destroy the core assumption of quality which is what
the company truly subsists on... Surely Cook must realize this by now? Desktop
isn't the future, we know, but neglect advanced users and you only stand to
lose relevance.

[edit] A slightly more crude analogy: it's a bit like dressing up a Ford Pinto
in the body kit of a Ferrari -- you'll cross the line in style, but eventually
you're going to get burned.

~~~
roflchoppa
Maybe its an issue with scope, and targeting specific issues that people have.
Couple of advance users have issues with security not a big issue, Taylor
Swift has issues with payment of artists, next day issue is addressed.

I guess its the illusion of caring.

You would think that the core would need to be solid, while the outsides would
be constantly polished. I don't believe the company has been on the path of
quality since the release of 10.7-10.9 and the all the hardware issues that
came through during that era, till now.

While i agree that desktops are not the future, and mobile is increasingly
picking up momentum, mobile to me is like the horse with a blinding mask on,
this is what you get, and ONLY this. Even more so with the case of Apple.

I guess I came around full circle to bite myself. I want new things with
mobile, and I want there to be options. But at the same time I want something
that is quality. Should I have to sacrifice one for the other? Or worse, wait
forever to be able to do something, at which when i get it i don't even care
anymore because I need to do something else now.

GNU looks so nice right now.

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shred45
Lots of exploits fit in a tweet. Lots don't. That really doesn't have anything
to do with how "bad" or "trivial" it is.

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ch
"'Apple ships fixes for security in beta versions of future products, but does
not fix current versions,' Esser noted."

Is that really a thing? Apple doesn't ship security updates? Or is that just
trolling?

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steckerbrett
Yes, Apple does not patch old versions of iOS or OSX.

All iPhone 2G, 3G and 4 are all vulnerable to root code execution flaws (some
exploitable from the web browser) and do not receive updates.

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Osmium
Aren't all iPhones that can be jailbroken subject to root code execution
flaws?

~~~
steckerbrett
Yep. The 2G and 3G ones are particularly bad because there's a public
toolchain that gets you from web browser to root, for the 4 and later you
normally need USB access to some degree.

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deckiedan
that's pretty bad. I just tested it, and it does, indeed work.

~~~
justizin
Remove the last line in your /etc/sudoers with visudo if you don't want
permanent passwordless sudo on your account.

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mcintyre1994
Pretty new to OS X, when will Yosemite expect a fix? Is El Capitan Beta stable
enough to be a better bet?

~~~
ncw96
You can never be absolutely sure with Apple, but for comparison, the
Shellshock exploit was patched on OS X within a week.

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jdalgetty
sudo: unable to stat /etc/sudoers: Permission denied sudo: no valid sudoers
sources found, quitting

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anc84
What is that domain? This is a Register post, here it was submitted as
[http://www.theregister.stfi.re/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/?sf...](http://www.theregister.stfi.re/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/?sf=ekxly)
which looks like social media tracking crap.

[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/)
is the actual URL.

~~~
dang
Thanks. We changed the URL to that from
[http://www.theregister.stfi.re/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/?sf...](http://www.theregister.stfi.re/2015/07/22/os_x_root_hole/?sf=ekxly).
We banned stfi.re.

~~~
anc84
Thank you!

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dang
Posted yesterday, but without much discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9933639](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9933639).

