CVE-2023-42913
📋 TL;DR
This macOS vulnerability allows Remote Login sessions to bypass security controls and obtain full disk access permissions. It affects macOS systems with Remote Login enabled, potentially exposing sensitive data to unauthorized remote users. Apple has addressed this in macOS Sonoma 14.2.
💻 Affected Systems
- macOS
📦 What is this software?
Macos by Apple
macOS is Apple's desktop and laptop operating system powering Mac computers used by millions of professionals, developers, creative professionals, and enterprise users worldwide. Built on a Unix foundation with the Darwin kernel and modern Cocoa frameworks, macOS delivers a seamless ecosystem integr...
Learn more about Macos →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote attackers gain complete access to all files on the system, including sensitive data, credentials, and system files, leading to full system compromise.
Likely Case
Unauthorized users accessing shared systems via Remote Login could read sensitive files they shouldn't have access to, potentially exposing confidential information.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, impact is limited to unauthorized file access within the Remote Login user's scope.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires valid Remote Login credentials but then provides elevated disk access beyond intended permissions.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: macOS Sonoma 14.2
Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214036
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open System Settings > General > Software Update. 2. Install macOS Sonoma 14.2 update. 3. Restart when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Remote Login
allTurn off Remote Login (SSH) service to prevent exploitation
sudo systemsetup -setremotelogin off
Restrict Remote Login Access
allLimit Remote Login to specific users only
sudo systemsetup -f -setremotelogin on
Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config to restrict users
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Remote Login service immediately
- Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to block SSH access from untrusted networks
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check macOS version: if running Sonoma and version is less than 14.2, and Remote Login is enabled, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
sw_vers -productVersionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify macOS version is 14.2 or later: sw_vers -productVersion should return 14.2 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file access patterns via SSH sessions in system.log
- Failed authorization attempts followed by successful SSH logins
Network Indicators:
- SSH connections from unusual IP addresses
- Increased SSH session duration or data transfer
SIEM Query:
source="system.log" ("sshd" AND ("Accepted" OR "session opened")) | stats count by src_ip, user