Software Engineering Institute

Xsan Filesystem

Xsan is a Storage Area Network (SAN) filesystem designed for use by Apple OS X and OS X Server operating systems.

The Problem
There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Xsan filesystem driver that may affect systems directly attached to Xsan. An authenticated user with write access to the filesystem may exploit this vulnerability by creating a file with a specially crafted path name.

A local, authenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges, or create a denial-of-service condition.

Upgrade
Apple has released Xsan Filesystem 1.4 to address this vulnerability.

Restrict Write Access
Only allowing trusted users write access to the Xsan Filesystem may mitigate this vulnerability. The Xsan Administrator's Guide has instructions on how to restrict a client to read-only access.