CVE-2017-13851
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.13 is affected. The issue involves the "DesktopServices" component. It allows local users to bypass intended access restrictions on home folder files.
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 confidenceCVE-2017-13851 is a local access control bypass vulnerability in macOS versions before 10.13 (High Sierra). The DesktopServices component contains a flaw that allows local users to bypass intended access restrictions on home folder files, potentially enabling unauthorized access to sensitive user data.
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= 10.13.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 installed macOS versionGo to Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, and note the version number (e.g., 10.12.x, 10.11.x)Affected if The version is earlier than 10.13.0 (e.g., 10.12.6, 10.11.5, etc.) - versions before macOS High Sierra are affected
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Confirm DesktopServices component is presentDesktopServices is a built-in macOS component that handles user file operations and home folder management. It is included by default in all macOS installations prior to 10.13.Affected if DesktopServices is present and in use (this is the default state for pre-10.13 macOS installations)
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Verify home folder access controls are configuredCheck if the user's home folder (/Users/username/) has standard macOS permissions with user-specific access restrictions in placeAffected if Home folder access controls exist and the system is running a macOS version earlier than 10.13 - the bypass vulnerability could allow these restrictions to be circumvented
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Confirm local user access to the systemDetermine if there is any local user account or physical access to the machine - this is a local vulnerability that requires an attacker to have local access to the MacAffected if Local user accounts exist or physical access to the Mac is possible - the vulnerability allows a local user to bypass intended file access restrictions in the home folder
A system is affected if it runs any version of macOS earlier than 10.13 (High Sierra), has DesktopServices enabled (default), and has user home folder access controls configured - a local attacker could exploit this to bypass file access restrictions.
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 dataUpgrade affected systems to macOS 10.13 or later. This is the primary remediation as no patch was released separately for earlier versions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2017-13851 — 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-2017-13851 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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