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CVE-2023-42958

7.8 HIGH

📋 TL;DR

A permissions issue in macOS allowed applications to gain elevated privileges beyond their intended access. This affects macOS Ventura systems before version 13.4. An attacker could exploit this to execute arbitrary code with higher privileges than intended.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • macOS
Versions: macOS Ventura versions before 13.4
Operating Systems: macOS Ventura
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Only affects macOS Ventura. Older macOS versions and other Apple operating systems are not affected.

📦 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

An attacker gains full root access to the system, allowing complete compromise, data theft, persistence installation, and lateral movement.

🟠

Likely Case

Malicious applications or compromised legitimate apps escalate privileges to perform unauthorized actions like accessing sensitive data or modifying system files.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper application sandboxing and least privilege principles, impact is limited to the specific application's scope rather than full system compromise.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This requires local application execution, not directly exploitable over network.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires user interaction to run malicious application, but could be combined with social engineering or other initial access vectors.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires user to execute a malicious application. No public exploit code has been disclosed as of analysis.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: macOS Ventura 13.4

Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213758

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open System Settings 2. Click General 3. Click Software Update 4. Install macOS Ventura 13.4 or later 5. Restart when prompted

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Application Sandbox Enforcement

all

Ensure all applications run with appropriate sandboxing and permissions restrictions

User Education

all

Train users to only install applications from trusted sources like the Mac App Store

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized applications from executing
  • Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to monitor for privilege escalation attempts

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check macOS version: If running macOS Ventura and version is less than 13.4, system is vulnerable

Check Version:

sw_vers

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm macOS version is 13.4 or higher after update

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Unexpected privilege escalation events in system logs
  • Applications requesting elevated permissions unexpectedly

Network Indicators:

  • None - local privilege escalation only

SIEM Query:

source="macos_system_logs" AND (event="privilege_escalation" OR process="sudo" OR process="authorization")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-42958
CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: July 29, 2024
Last Updated: December 9, 2024

🔗 References

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