March 31, 2016
Security researchers at Check Point Software claim to have found a weakness in Apple’s mobile device management (MDM) interface for iOS devices that could be exploited to gain complete access to devices. Dubbed “SideStepper,” the approach could allow an attacker to hijack enterprise management functions and bypass Apple’s application security.
By sending a link to a victim’s device, someone could take control of the MDM software on the phone and push potentially malicious applications to the device as well as perform other configuration changes as a remote administrator. While Apple’s security screening for the applications it allows into its App Store is rigorous, there is a backdoor left in the screening process: enterprise app stores. And new research by Check Point being presented at Black Hat Asia 2016 shows that even with security improvements in iOS 9, attackers can kick that backdoor in by hijacking the enterprise management connection.