SecureMac Issues Critical Security Advisory for MacKeeper Users

LOS ANGELES — Apple Macintosh and Mac OS X security specialists SecureMac, has issued a critical security advisory for users of the OS X utility program MacKeeper.

According to SecureMac, a flaw in MacKeeper’s URL handler implementation allows arbitrary remote code execution when a user visits a specially crafted webpage. MacKeeper was originally created by Ukrainian company ZeoBIT, and is now distributed by Kromtech Alliance Corp.

Security researcher Braden Thomas discovered the flaw, caused by MacKeeper’s lack of input validation when executing commands using its custom URL scheme, enabling commands to be run as “root” with little to no user interaction required.

Thomas published a proof-of-concept (POC) that demonstrates how using Safari to visit a specially coded webpage causes the affected system to execute various commands, which in the case of the POC, will uninstall MacKeeper.

SecureMac notes that while the POC is relatively benign, the source code provided with it could easily be modified to perform malicious attacks.

“If MacKeeper has already prompted the user for their password during the normal course of the program’s operation, the user will not be prompted for their password prior to the arbitrary command being executed as root,” explains a SecureMac spokesperson. “If the user hasn’t previously authenticated, they will be prompted to enter their username and password — however, the text that appears for the authentication dialog can be manipulated as part of the exploit and set to anything, so the user might not realize the consequences of this action.”

As with other operating systems, Apple allows OS X and iOS apps to define custom URL schemes and register them with the operating system so that other programs know which app should handle the custom URL scheme.

“Normally, this is used to define a custom communication protocol for sending data or performing a specific action (for example, clicking a telephone number link in iOS will ask if the user wants to dial that number, or clicking an email address link in OS X will open Mail.app and compose a new message to that person),” the spokesperson adds. “Apple’s inter-application programming guide explicitly tells developers to validate the input received from these custom URLs in order to avoid problems related to URL handling. Additionally, Apple has provided information on the importance of input validation in their Secure Coding Guide.”

It appears that these security guidelines were ignored.

According to MacKeeper, its software has surpassed 20 million downloads worldwide, but despite this popularity, reports from users have cited its numerous pop-ups and advertisements as major negatives, and it remains to be seen how this latest revelation will affect its users.

A workaround is available for MacKeeper users until this vulnerability in the program is fixed: On OS X, clicking a link in Safari that uses a custom URL scheme will automatically open the program that is registered to handle that type of URL. Other browsers, such as Google’s Chrome, will ask the user for permission before opening a link that uses an external protocol. Non-technical users could use a web browser other than Safari, in order to see an alert before a link could cause an arbitrary command to be executed, while more technical users could remove the custom URL scheme handler from MacKeeper’s Info.plist file.

For more information, visit SecureMac.com.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

NATS Launches Integrated Content Management System

Too Much Media (TMM) has rolled out an integrated, no-charge Content Management System (CMS) to its NATS platform.

AEBN Reveals Avery Lust as Top Trans Star for Q3 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the third quarter of 2025, with Avery Lust landing atop the leaderboard.

FSC: California's Device-Based AV Law Does Not Apply to Adult

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) put out an advisory today explaining that California's new device-based age verification law does not apply to adult websites.

Reena Sky Launches New Paysite

Reena Sky has launched her new official paysite, ILoveReenaSky.com.

NextGen Payment Joins ASACP as Corporate Sponsor

NextGen Payment has signed on as the latest corporate sponsor for the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Lauren Phillips, Derek Kage Cap AEBN's Top Stars for 3rd Quarter of 2025

AEBN has revealed its most popular performers in straight and gay theaters for the third quarter of 2025.

XBIZ 2026 Conference to Debut All-New Company Lounges, Community Track

The event website for XBIZ 2026 is now live, unveiling details for North America’s largest adult industry conference, including two all-new show features: Company Lounges and a Community Track.

Mymember.site Integrates VR Functionality

Mymember.site has added virtual reality playback capability to its website management platform.

Texas Patti to Launch Fetish Platform 'EmpireDom'

Performer and content creator Texas Patti is launching a new platform for doms and fetish creators, EmpireDom.com.

Ohio AG Threatens Action Against 'Major' Adult Sites Over AV Law

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today that his office is sending "notice of violation" letters to 19 adult websites for failure to comply with the state's recently enacted age verification law.

Show More