Kingdom: Encapsulation

Encapsulation is about drawing strong boundaries. In a web browser that might mean ensuring that your mobile code cannot be abused by other mobile code. On the server it might mean differentiation between validated data and unvalidated data, between one user's data and another's, or between data users are allowed to see and data that they are not.

Insecure Storage: Universal Clipboard

Objective-C
Swift

Abstract

The application stores content to the general pasteboard, which is automatically synchronized across all devices signed in with the same iCloud account.

Explanation

The identified function writes data to the general pasteboard without excluding it from Universal Clipboard synchronization across devices via Handoff.

Content written to the general pasteboard is persistently stored across device restarts, app uninstalls, and app restores. Using the general pasteboard with the Universal Clipboard feature enabled increases the risk of stolen or modified pasteboard data as part of a Clipboard Hijacking attack by a malicious application running on another device.

Furthermore, because Universal Clipboard is compatible with devices running either iOS 10 and later or macOS Sierra and later, an increased threat is introduced by compatible devices running an older operating system that does not contain more recent privacy and security updates aimed to protect unauthorized clipboard access.

Example 1: In the following code, data is written to the general pasteboard setting the items property that shares pasteboard content between the user's devices by default via Universal Clipboard.


...
UIPasteboard *pasteboard = [UIPasteboard generalPasteboard];
NSDictionary *items = @{
    UTTypePlainText : sensitiveDataString,
    UTTypePNG : [UIImage imageWithData:medicalImageData]
};
[pasteboard setItems: @[items]];
...

Example 2: In the following code, data is written to the general pasteboard by calling the setObjects:localOnly:expirationDate: method with Universal Clipboard behavior explicitly enabled by setting the localOnly parameter to NO.


...
UIPasteboard *pasteboard = [UIPasteboard generalPasteboard];
[pasteboard setObjects:@[sensitiveDataString, [UIImage imageWithData:medicalImageData]] 
            localOnly:NO 
            expirationDate:[NSDate distantFuture]];
...

References

[1] UIPasteboard | Apple Developer Documentation Apple

[2] iOS Platform APIs - OWASP Mobile Application Security OWASP

[3] Standards Mapping - CIS Azure Kubernetes Service Benchmark 2

[4] Standards Mapping - CIS Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service Benchmark 5

[5] Standards Mapping - CIS Amazon Web Services Foundations Benchmark 1

[6] Standards Mapping - CIS Google Kubernetes Engine Benchmark normal

[7] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration CWE ID 312, CWE ID 359

[8] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2019 [4] CWE ID 200

[9] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2020 [7] CWE ID 200

[10] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2021 [20] CWE ID 200

[11] Standards Mapping - DISA Control Correlation Identifier Version 2 CCI-002475

[12] Standards Mapping - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Insufficient Data Protection

[13] Standards Mapping - NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 4 SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest (P1)

[14] Standards Mapping - NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5 SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest

[15] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2004 A8 Insecure Storage

[16] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2007 A6 Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling

[17] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2013 A6 Sensitive Data Exposure

[18] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2017 A3 Sensitive Data Exposure

[19] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2021 A04 Insecure Design

[20] Standards Mapping - OWASP Application Security Verification Standard 4.0 2.6.3 Look-up Secret Verifier Requirements (L2 L3), 6.1.1 Data Classification (L2 L3), 6.1.2 Data Classification (L2 L3), 6.1.3 Data Classification (L2 L3), 6.2.1 Algorithms (L1 L2 L3), 8.1.6 General Data Protection (L3), 8.2.2 Client-side Data Protection (L1 L2 L3), 8.3.4 Sensitive Private Data (L1 L2 L3), 10.2.1 Malicious Code Search (L2 L3)

[21] Standards Mapping - OWASP Mobile 2014 M2 Insecure Data Storage

[22] Standards Mapping - OWASP Mobile 2024 M9 Insecure Data Storage

[23] Standards Mapping - OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard 2.0 MASVS-STORAGE-1

[24] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 1.1 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 8.4

[25] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 1.2 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.6, Requirement 8.4

[26] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 2.0 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.5, Requirement 8.4

[27] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.0 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.5, Requirement 8.2.1

[28] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.2 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.5, Requirement 8.2.1

[29] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.2.1 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.5, Requirement 8.2.1

[30] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.1 Requirement 3.2, Requirement 3.4, Requirement 4.2, Requirement 6.5.5, Requirement 8.2.1

[31] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 4.0 Requirement 3.3.1, Requirement 3.5.1, Requirement 4.2.2, Requirement 6.2.4, Requirement 8.3.1

[32] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Software Security Framework 1.0 Control Objective 3.3 - Sensitive Data Retention, Control Objective 6.1 - Sensitive Data Protection

[33] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Software Security Framework 1.1 Control Objective 3.3 - Sensitive Data Retention, Control Objective 6.1 - Sensitive Data Protection, Control Objective B.2.5 - Terminal Software Design

[34] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Software Security Framework 1.2 Control Objective 3.3 - Sensitive Data Retention, Control Objective 6.1 - Sensitive Data Protection, Control Objective B.2.5 - Terminal Software Design

[35] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.1 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3310 CAT I, APP3340 CAT I

[36] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.4 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[37] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.5 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[38] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.6 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[39] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.7 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[40] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.9 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[41] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 3.10 APP3210.1 CAT II, APP3340 CAT I

[42] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.1 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[43] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.2 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[44] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.3 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[45] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.4 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[46] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.5 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[47] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.6 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[48] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.7 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[49] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.8 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[50] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.9 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[51] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.10 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[52] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.11 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[53] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.1 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[54] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.2 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[55] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.3 APSC-DV-002340 CAT II

[56] Standards Mapping - Web Application Security Consortium Version 2.00 Information Leakage (WASC-13)

[57] Standards Mapping - Web Application Security Consortium 24 + 2 Information Leakage

desc.dataflow.objc.insecure_storage_universal_clipboard

Abstract

The application stores content to the general pasteboard, which is automatically synchronized across all devices signed in with the same iCloud account.

Explanation

The identified function writes data to the general pasteboard without excluding it from Universal Clipboard synchronization across devices via Handoff.

Content written to the general pasteboard is persistently stored across device restarts, app uninstalls, and app restores. Using the general pasteboard with the Universal Clipboard feature enabled increases the risk of stolen or modified pasteboard data as part of a Clipboard Hijacking attack by a malicious application running on another device.

Furthermore, because Universal Clipboard is compatible with devices running either iOS 10 and later or macOS Sierra and later, an increased threat is introduced by compatible devices running an older operating system that does not contain more recent privacy and security updates aimed to protect unauthorized clipboard access.

Example 1: In the following code, data is written to the general pasteboard using the setItems(_:options:) method which shares pasteboard content between the user's devices by default via Universal Clipboard.


...
let pasteboard = UIPasteboard.general
let items: [[String: Any]] = [
    ["text": sensitiveDataString],
    ["image": UIImage(data: medicalImageData)!]
]
pasteboard.setItems(items)
...

Example 2: In the following code, data is written to the general pasteboard using the setObjects(_:localOnly:expirationDate:) method with Universal Clipboard behavior explicitly enabled by setting the localOnly parameter to false.


...
let pasteboard = UIPasteboard.general
let items: [Any] = [
    sensitiveDataString,
    UIImage(data: medicalImageData)!
]
pasteboard.setObjects([items], localOnly: false, expirationDate: Date.distantFuture)
...