A major security flaw that could affect Apple's Mac and Linux operating systems has been discovered, with security experts claiming it to be more dangerous than the recent Heartbleed bug. The Shellshock bug creates a vulnerability in "Bash" — software that controls the command prompt on many computers running the Unix operating system. The Shellshock vulnerability could allow hackers to insert malicious pieces of code from a remote location and potentially take control of a machine. "The difference in significance is that with Heartbleed, what somebody could grab credentials of a user and do what they wanted, but in this case, if somebody is vulnerable, it potentially allows someone to get full system control of a victim's system," David Emm, senior security research at Kaspersky Lab, told CNBC by phone. Tech publication Ars Technica ran a test on Apple's latest OS Mavericks and found a vulnerability. At the time of publication, Apple had not responded to a CNBC request for information on whether it has released a patch.
IN-DEPTH
- Beware of These 4 Common and Dangerous Cyberattacks
- After Heartbleed, Tech Giants Team Up to Avoid Redux
- How Heartbleed’s Worst-Case Scenario Was Proven Possible (Re/Code)
