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Technical Write Up

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Technical Write Up.md

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+# Improper Input Validation in Siri Shortcuts and Shared Web Credentials Enables Persistent Background Execution, Retry Storms, and Sandbox Extension Abuse
+
+**Date Discovered:** August 20, 2025
+**Discovered By:** Joseph Goydish II
+
+---
+
+### Detection Context
+
+* **Device:** iPhone 14 pro max
+* **OS Version:** iOS 18.6.2
+* **State:** Live, in-field (production environment)
+* **Exploitation Status:** Proven, persistent, reproducible
+* **Severity:** High
+* **Proposed CVSS v4.0 Base Score:** 7.4 (High)
+
+---
+
+### Executive Summary
+
+A vulnerability chain exists within Siri Shortcuts automation and the Shared Web Credentials (SWC) framework that enables malformed payloads to persistently execute in the background without validation or proper sandbox containment.
+
+Tested under real-world conditions, this vulnerability leads to:
+
+* Silent background execution of malformed workflows
+* Unauthorized sandbox extension requests by system daemons
+* Excessive retry storms (71+ attempts) in `swcd`
+* TLS trust degradation (certificate mismatches ignored)
+* Workflow persistence across device reboot and application relaunch
+
+These behaviors subvert Apple’s automation and trust enforcement models, introducing risks of denial of service, degraded credential validation, and stealthy persistence mechanisms.
+
+---
+
+### Affected Components
+
+| Component                | Description                                                |
+| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
+| com.apple.Shortcuts      | Accepts malformed payloads and executes them               |
+| BackgroundShortcutRunner | Executes workflows silently in the background              |
+| com.apple.siriknowledged | Issues sandbox extension requests from malformed workflows |
+| com.apple.swcd           | Retries malformed JSON; tolerates TLS errors               |
+| searchd, symptomsd       | Invoked without entitlement via chained payloads           |
+| iOS/macOS                | All versions supporting Siri Shortcuts + SWC               |
+
+---
+
+### CWE Classification
+
+* CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
+* CWE-184: Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs
+* CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
+* CWE-284: Improper Access Control
+
+---
+
+### Vulnerability Details
+
+**Issue:** Siri Shortcuts accepts malformed payloads containing null fields (e.g., `WFLinkEntityContentItem.title = null`) and executes workflows without rejection.
+
+#### 1. Improper Shortcut Parsing
+
+* Payload accepted despite missing required fields
+* Log:
+
+  ```
+  Ignoring entity property '<private>' because it doesn't have a title.
+  ```
+
+#### 2. Silent Background Execution
+
+* Triggered without alert via `BackgroundShortcutRunner`
+
+#### 3. Retry Storms in `swcd`
+
+* Malformed JSON triggers 71 retry attempts
+* TLS errors logged but ignored
+
+  ```
+  SWCERR00401 Bad JSON content -- {"cause":"invalid character '<'"}
+  SWCERR00303 TLS error -- certificate mismatch
+  ```
+
+#### 4. Sandbox Extension Requests
+
+* Daemons request entitlements for malformed workflows
+* Requests continue despite denial
+
+#### 5. Persistence
+
+* Workflows re-trigger on reboot or app relaunch
+* Stored in `/var/mobile/Library/Shortcuts/`
+
+---
+
+### Delivery Vectors
+
+* Injected via iCloud Shortcut sync or MobileDevice API
+* Stored at `/var/mobile/Library/Shortcuts/`
+* Automatically triggered by automation profiles
+
+---
+
+### Live System Proof
+
+**Tested Environment:** iPhone 14 / iOS 18.6.2
+
+**Observed Logs:**
+
+```
+[BackgroundShortcutRunner] Ignoring entity property '<private>' because it doesn't have a title.
+[swcd] SWCERR00401 Bad JSON content -- {"cause":"invalid character '<'"}
+[swcd] SWCERR00303 TLS error -- certificate mismatch
+Retries: 71
+```
+
+**Result:**
+Execution persisted despite malformed input. TLS mismatch was tolerated. No user interaction required post-setup.
+
+---
+
+### Artifact Snapshot (swcutil --show)
+
+```
+Service: webcredentials
+App ID: com.apple.PassbookUIService
+Domain: wallet.apple.com
+Error: SWCERR00401 Bad JSON content -- {"cause":"invalid character '<'"}
+Retries: 71
+SWCERR00303 TLS error -- x509: certificate is valid for apple-shield.apple.com, not concierge.apple.com
+```
+
+---
+
+### Root Cause Chain
+
+| Layer                      | Fault Description                                 |
+| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
+| Siri Shortcuts Engine      | Accepts malformed payloads with null content      |
+| Workflow Execution Handler | Executes workflows despite parsing errors         |
+| SWC Fetch Logic (`swcd`)   | Retries malformed JSON up to 71 times             |
+| TLS Certificate Validation | Ignores mismatch and continues execution          |
+| Sandbox Enforcement        | Processes entitlement requests without validation |
+| Automation Framework       | Allows persistence without runtime validation     |
+
+---
+
+### CVSS v4.0 Scoring
+
+* **Attack Vector:** Local
+* **Attack Complexity:** Low
+* **Privileges Required:** Low
+* **User Interaction:** Required
+* **Scope:** Changed
+* **Confidentiality:** Low
+* **Integrity:** Medium
+* **Availability:** High
+* **Base Score:** 7.4 (High)
+* **Environmental Score:** Up to 8.1 (context-dependent)
+
+---
+
+### Impact Summary
+
+| Impact Type          | Description                                               |
+| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
+| Denial of Service    | Retry storms from malformed SWC inputs                    |
+| Background Execution | Persistent execution of workflows at system events        |
+| Entitlement Bypass   | Daemon requests proceed without proper sandbox validation |
+| Trust Degradation    | TLS mismatches tolerated                                  |
+| Persistence          | Automations survive reboot and app relaunch               |
+
+---
+
+### Suggested Remediations
+
+| Component             | Recommendation                                              |
+| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
+| Siri Shortcuts Engine | Reject malformed `WFLinkEntityContentItem` inputs           |
+| SWC Retry Logic       | Limit retries to three maximum                              |
+| TLS Trust Chain       | Enforce strict pinning; abort on mismatch                   |
+| Automation Framework  | Require runtime permissions for network-enabled automations |
+| System Logging        | Detect anomalous retry patterns (>10 in 60 seconds)         |
+
+---
+
+### Reproducibility & Coordination
+
+The researcher can provide:
+
+* Full technical report (this document)
+* `swcutil` verification steps
+* Timestamped system logs (redacted)
+* Live trace video (available upon request)
+
+---
+
+### Conclusion
+
+This vulnerability chain exposes systemic flaws in Siri Shortcuts and Shared Web Credentials. It allows silent background execution, degraded trust enforcement, and persistent post-exploitation workflows in core Apple frameworks. The issue has been reproduced under live, production conditions and should be triaged and remediated as a high-priority issue.