Apple fixes 'hack-a-Mac hole'

Apple has released a QuickTime update to fix a security flaw that was used to breach a MacBook Pro at a recent security conference.

The media player vulnerability lies in QuickTime for Java, Apple said in a security alert. The hole could be exploited through a rigged website and let an attacker commandeer computers running both Mac OS X and Windows, the Mac maker said.

Apple said: "By enticing a user to visit a web page containing a maliciously crafted Java applet, an attacker can trigger the issue, which may lead to arbitrary code execution." Only computers running an unfixed version of QuickTime would be at risk.

Security monitoring company Secunia deems the flaw "highly critical", one notch below its most serious rating. The update, QuickTime 7.1.6, repairs the problem by performing additional checking. Apple credits bug hunter Dino Dai Zovi and the TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative for reporting the issue.

Apple's fix comes just over a week after the vulnerability was used to grab a $10,000 prize and a MacBook Pro in a hack-a-Mac contest at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Security researcher Shane Macaulay worked with Dai Zovi to break into the Mac and took home the computer. Dai Zovi subsequently submitted the bug to TippingPoint, which sweetened the competition by offering a $10,000 bounty through its Zero Day Initiative programme.

Apple also put out an updated version of a security update originally released last month. Version 1.1 of the 2007-004 patch repairs a couple of problems with the original fix, which may cause wireless connections to drop and allow limited FTP users access beyond their privileges on an Apple FTPServer, Apple said in another alert.

Apple's security updates are available through the Software Update application in its operating system and QuickTime software, and from the Apple website.

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com