CVE-2014-4404

What Is IOHIDFamily?

IOHIDFamily is an Apple kernel extension (kext) that implements the I/O Kit Human Interface Device (HID) framework — the kernel component responsible for managing input devices such as keyboards, mice, trackpads, game controllers, and other HID-compliant peripherals. Because IOHIDFamily is a kernel driver, vulnerabilities in it allow escalation directly to kernel-level code execution, bypassing all user-space security controls. IOHIDFamily has been a historically fruitful source of iOS jailbreaks and OS X privilege escalation exploits due to the complexity of its HID device handling code.

Overview

CVE-2014-4404 is a heap-based buffer overflow in the IOHIDFamily kernel extension affecting Apple OS X (through Mavericks 10.9.4), iOS (before 8), and Apple TV (before 7). A local attacker or malicious application can trigger the buffer overflow to corrupt kernel memory and achieve code execution at kernel privilege level — escalating from a sandboxed app or normal user to root. The vulnerability was patched in OS X Mavericks 10.9.5, iOS 8, and Apple TV 7.0 (September 2014).

Affected Versions

Technical Details

Root Cause: Heap Overflow in IOHIDFamily HID Report Handling

The IOHIDFamily kernel extension processes HID reports from input devices — structured binary data that describes input events (keystrokes, mouse movements, controller states). When processing certain HID report data, a heap buffer allocation is made that is insufficiently sized for the data being written. An attacker who can submit a crafted HID report (via a malicious application or by exploiting HID protocol handling) can overflow the heap buffer, overwriting adjacent kernel heap objects.

In the kernel heap context, this overflow can corrupt critical data structures:

• Kernel object vtable pointers → redirect kernel code execution
• IOKit object references → substitute attacker-controlled objects for legitimate ones
• Kernel stack pointers → enable further exploitation primitives

The result is arbitrary kernel code execution — full root/kernel access on the device.

Local Privilege Escalation on OS X

For OS X, exploitation requires local code execution (e.g., a user running a malicious application). The malicious app triggers the IOHIDFamily overflow to escalate from its sandboxed or user-level context to kernel/root. This was used in jailbreak tools and privilege escalation exploits in security research.

iOS Impact

On iOS, IOHIDFamily vulnerabilities have historically been central to jailbreak techniques. A sandboxed iOS app that can trigger CVE-2014-4404 can escape its sandbox and achieve full control of the device — the fundamental goal of iOS jailbreaking.

Attack Characteristics

Discovery

IOHIDFamily was researched extensively by security researchers in 2014 as a source of kernel vulnerabilities. Multiple researchers credited in Apple's security advisory for related IOHIDFamily issues.

Exploitation Context

• iOS jailbreaking: IOHIDFamily vulnerabilities including CVE-2014-4404 were used in iOS jailbreak tools — the same underlying techniques used by security researchers to gain device access
• Malware on OS X: Malicious applications exploiting kernel privilege escalation vulnerabilities can bypass OS X sandboxing and security controls, install persistent backdoors, or steal keychain credentials
• APT targeting of macOS: Nation-state actors targeting macOS users have used kernel privilege escalation vulnerabilities as second-stage exploits to achieve persistent elevated access
• CISA KEV (2022): Added February 2022, confirming active exploitation in attacks targeting macOS and iOS users years after the patch was available

Remediation

1. Update OS X to 10.9.5 (Security Update 2014-004) or later. Any macOS version released after September 2014 includes this fix.

2. Update iOS to iOS 8 or later. Any iOS version released after September 2014 addresses this vulnerability.

3. Keep Apple devices fully updated — Apple regularly patches kernel vulnerabilities in IOHIDFamily and related kexts. Maintaining current OS versions is the primary defense.

4. Restrict application installation — on macOS, enforce Gatekeeper to allow only App Store and identified developer apps. On iOS, limit to App Store apps and avoid sideloading or jailbreaking, which increases exposure to kernel exploit abuse.