Apple plugs holes in Xcode

The update, available for Mac OS X v10.4.x and Mac OS X v10.5, blocks an attack vector that lets a local attacker gain superuser privileges, which may lead to a complete system compromise.

The first issue is a buffer overflow exists in the way Tektronix Hex Format (TekHex) content is handled.

"By enticing a user to run gdb's "restore" command on a maliciously crafted TekHex file, an attacker may cause an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution," Apple said in an alert.

Two security flaws in the Xcode WebObjects package are also addressed in this update. From Apple's advisory:

The Xcode WebObjects package contains a demo version of OpenBase for use with WebObjects example code. This demo version of OpenBase may allow a local user to obtain system privileges. This update addresses the issue by disabling the Apple-provided demo version of OpenBase.

Kevin Finisterre, the security researcher who reported the WebObjects flaws to Apple, has posted exploit code (here and here) to demonstrate the issue.