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Hacker Team Claims Compromise of Apple's iCloud and Activation Lock, Possibly via SSL Bug [Updated]

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A pair of hackers from the Netherlands and Morocco, identifying themselves as AquaXetine and MerrukTechnolog, claim to have compromised the security of Apple's iCloud system for locking iOS devices.

The hack will unlock stolen iPhones by bypassing Activation Lock, making it possible for thieves to resell the phones easily on the black market, reports Dutch publication De Telegraaf [Google Translate]. It also may provide hackers with access to Apple ID passwords and other personal information stored in Apple's iCloud service.

The hackers reportedly worked on the vulnerability for five months, studying the transmission of data between iPhone handsets and Apple's iCloud services. The pair claim to be able to unlock a locked iPhone by placing a computer between the iPhone and Apple's servers. In this configuration, the iPhone mistakenly identifies the hacker's computer as one of Apple's servers and follows instructions provided by the nefarious computer to reverse activation lock on the handset.

While the hackers did not reveal precise information on how their intercepting computer can spoof Apple's iCloud activation servers, it appears that they may be taking advantage of an SSL bug that is present in iTunes for Windows, as noted by iPhone in Canada, who spoke to security researcher Mark Loman about the issue. The previously disclosed issue was fixed in iOS 7.0.6 and OS X 10.9.2, but it appears that iTunes for Windows is still affected.
After looking into some claims of the jailbreak community, Mark Loman decided to do some investigating of his own and made a shocking discovery. SSL has two tasks: one, to verify communication with the intended server; and two, to prevent manipulation.

"The problem is with verifying the certificate. Apple appears to have deliberately left out this essential step required for proper secure communication. They fixed it last month for iOS but forgot to fix it for iTunes. But the jailbreak community is already making use of it -- which is how I figured it out."
Click to expand...
The vulnerability reportedly allows hackers to intercept Apple ID credentials, which can then be used to unlock iOS devices that have been locked after having been lost or stolen.
Actually, the data IS encrypted. But when an attacker strips SSL during a so-called man-in-the-middle attack the AppleID account name and password can be extracted as they are sent in plain text inside SSL, Mark Loman said in an email sent to iPhone in Canada.
Click to expand...
Using this technique, the hackers claim to have unlocked 30,000 iPhones in the past few days. The group allegedly contacted Apple about this vulnerability in March, but Apple never responded, prompting the hackers to go public with the information.

Update 10:43 AM: One of the hackers has denied that the bypass involves an SSL bug.

Article Link: Hacker Team Claims Compromise of Apple's iCloud and Activation Lock, Possibly via SSL Bug [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/05/21/hackers-icloud-locking-compromise/
"The group allegedly contacted Apple about this vulnerability in March, but Apple never responded, prompting the hackers to go public with the information."

lol, Apple
 
I imagine this will be solved with a simple iOS update and a change of Apple's server.

That being said -- on a similar topic - Now that Activation Lock exists, it is astonishing to me the sheer amount of iCloud locked iPhones on eBay that are pretty much only good for parts/trash. On the one hand, yes it might keep phones in the owners possession, but on the other hand, it creates a lot of garbage that will end up in the landfill.

Possibly even more surprising to me is that people are paying almost full price for these locked phones :(
 
The group allegedly contacted Apple about this vulnerability in March, but Apple never responded, prompting the hackers to go public with the information.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, that's the proper way to do it.

  1. Contact the manufacturer to inform them of the problem.
  2. Give them some time to fix it.
  3. If they haven't fixed it after a few months, go public to force them to react.
 
stiligFox said:
I imagine this will be solved with a simple iOS update and a change of Apple's server.

That being said -- on a similar topic - Now that Activation Lock exists, it is astonishing to me the sheer amount of iCloud locked iPhones on eBay that are pretty much only good for parts/trash. On the one hand, yes it might keep phones in the owners possession, but on the other hand, it creates a lot of garbage that will end up in the landfill.

Possibly even more surprising to me is that people are paying almost full price for these locked phones :(
Click to expand...

Yep. Locked phone = stolen phone.
 
Yvan256 said:
In my opinion, that's the proper way to do it.

  1. Contact the manufacturer to inform them of the problem.
  2. Give them some time to fix it.
  3. If they haven't fixed it after a few months, go public to force them to react.
Click to expand...

They did, in March. Still not fixed.
 
These billion dollar companies really need to stay on top of all this. They're happy to take your money but not so quick to safeguard your details.

And now there's trouble at eBay.
 
Annnnnnd cue the tech press over-reacting and blowing this way out of proportion.

Not that this isn't a serious flaw; it is. But because it's Apple it will be presented as the end of the world, and covered by every major news outlet where-as a similar bug in Android is barely mentioned by anyone at all.
 
So they wasted 5 months of work so Apple can patch it in a week? I don't see the point
 
They claimed they unlocked 30,000 iPhones??? I'm to believe that many iPhones' activation lock was bypassed and the internet community was not ablazed with that info???
 
CosmoFox said:
So they wasted 5 months of work so Apple can patch it in a week? I don't see the point
Click to expand...

Apple didn't patch it in a week. They haven't done a thing about it since March. The point is to get Apple to secure their products, and publicly releasing vulnerabilities is the only way to do that.
 
Yvan256 said:
In my opinion, that's the proper way to do it.

  1. Contact the manufacturer to inform them of the problem.
  2. Give them some time to fix it.
  3. If they haven't fixed it after a few months, go public to force them to react.
Click to expand...

There is, however, a difference between simply going public with the info and exploiting the issue to unlock 30,000 locked phones as they claim to have done.
 
WildCowboy said:
There is, however, a difference between simply going public with the info and exploiting the issue to unlock 30,000 locked phones as they claim to have done.
Click to expand...

It puts more pressure on Apple to get a fix rolled out and prevents them from passing it off as a theoretical attack.
 
Stella said:
They did, in March. Still not fixed.
Click to expand...

So anyone can claim anything they want and people instantly believe them without a shadow of doubt? When did the public become so easily gullible?

I'm not saying its not true. I'm saying none of us know. Just because some hackers claim something doesn't make it true. And how exactly are they trustworthy to begin with? These are people hacking into places they shouldn't be, unlocking stolen phones, and you don't even have a sliver of doubt about their honesty?
 
Millah said:
So anyone can claim anything they want and people instantly believe them without a shadow of doubt? When did the public become so easily gullible?

I'm not saying its not true. I'm saying none of us know. Just because some hackers claim something doesn't make it true. And how exactly are they trustworthy to begin with? These are people hacking into places they shouldn't be, and they're 100% trustworthy?
Click to expand...

The fact that they're exploiting the vulnerability means they're pretty trustworthy when they say there is one.
 
Millah said:
So anyone can claim anything they want and people instantly believe them without a shadow of doubt? When did the public become so easily gullible?

I'm not saying its not true. I'm saying none of us know. Just because some hackers claim something doesn't make it true. And how exactly are they trustworthy to begin with? These are people hacking into places they shouldn't be, and they're 100% trustworthy?
Click to expand...

Chill.
Don't take it as a personal attack on yourself.
 
CosmoFox said:
So they wasted 5 months of work so Apple can patch it in a week? I don't see the point
Click to expand...

clearly you don't understand security. If a lock is pickable, you get a better lock. This was a discovery that a lock was able to be bypassed. So Apple can and should build a better lock, even if it's only 5 minutes worth of work.

Yeah, it smells of SSL GoToFail and Man-in-the-middle. A bummer of a time SSL has had lately.
 
556fmjoe said:
Apple didn't patch it in a week. They haven't done a thing about it since March. The point is to get Apple to secure their products, and publicly releasing vulnerabilities is the only way to do that.
Click to expand...

How would you know that they haven't done a thing about it?

Obviously they will not broadcast anything when things like that happen.

And, fixes are not really pulled out off a drawer.

Analysis, testing etc. has to happen first. That takes time.

But..........................
 
Anyone who claims Apple doesn't take security of its products and services seriously, and doesn't care passionately about protecting our personal information - put simply they don't know Apple. There is no company on earth who has a better track record in this arena than Apple.
 
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