CVE-2013-5145
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedkextd in Kext Management in Apple iOS before 7 does not properly verify authorization for IPC messages, which allows local users to (1) load or (2) unload kernel extensions via a crafted message.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidencekextd (kernel extension daemon) in Apple iOS before version 7 fails to properly verify authorization on IPC messages, allowing a local attacker to load or unload kernel extensions by sending crafted messages to the kextd service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 6.1.4= 1.0.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4= 1.1.5= 2.0= 2.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the iOS device and look at the 'Version' field, or use Xcode/Finder to check the iOS version via the device information panelAffected if Version is 6.1.4 or earlier, or matches any of these specific versions: 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 2.0, 2.0.0
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Verify kextd is accessibleThis check applies to non-jailbroken iOS devices where the kextd service is present by default in the kernel extension subsystem. The daemon runs as a system service and accepts IPC messages on affected versions.Affected if The kextd daemon is running (standard on unmodified iOS) and the device runs an affected iOS version
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Confirm local access existsThe vulnerability requires a local attacker to send crafted IPC messages to the kextd service. This could be another app with code execution or an attacker with physical access via developer tools.Affected if The device runs an affected iOS version AND has any local code execution capability or physical access exposure
A device is affected if it runs iOS version 6.1.4 or earlier, or one of the specific early iOS versions listed (1.0.0 through 2.0.0), as these versions contain the authorization bypass in the kextd service.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate affected iOS devices to version 7 or later to obtain Apple's patch for this authorization bypass vulnerability in the kernel extension management subsystem.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5145 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-5145 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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