CVE-2017-13909
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 existed in the storage of sensitive tokens. This issue was addressed by placing the tokens in Keychain. This issue is fixed in macOS High Sierra 10.13. A local attacker may gain access to iCloud authentication tokens.
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 confidenceiCloud authentication tokens were stored in an insecure location accessible to local attackers, allowing potential unauthorized access to iCloud accounts. The vulnerability was remediated by migrating token storage to the macOS Keychain, which provides encrypted, secure storage.
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>= 10.0, < 10.13CVSS 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:3.1/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.
-
Check the installed macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This MacAffected if The version is 10.0 or higher but lower than 10.13 (the system is vulnerable if it has not been updated to High Sierra or later)
-
Determine if iCloud is configuredCheck for the presence of ~/Library/Application Support/iCloud/ or look for iCloud entries in System Preferences > iCloudAffected if iCloud is not signed in or configured - the vulnerability does not apply since there are no stored tokens
-
Inspect iCloud configuration files for authentication tokensExamine the contents of the iCloud configuration directory (typically ~/Library/Application Support/iCloud/) for .plist or other configuration files that may contain authentication tokens stored in plaintextAffected if Authentication tokens or session tokens are found stored in unencrypted configuration files outside of Keychain
-
Verify Keychain storage for iCloud tokensOpen Keychain Access and search for 'iCloud' items, or check if iCloud-related keychain entries exist for authentication tokensAffected if No iCloud Keychain entries exist and tokens are found in plaintext files, indicating the old vulnerable storage mechanism is in use
A user is affected if their macOS version is 10.0 through 10.12.x, they have iCloud configured, and authentication tokens are stored in accessible configuration files rather than in the macOS Keychain.
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.
dbcve · scoped10.13
Upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later, which moves sensitive tokens to Keychain storage. For legacy systems that cannot upgrade, ensure FileVault is enabled and consider additional access controls to mitigate local privilege escalation risks.
macOS High Sierra 10.13
- Back up important data on the Mac before upgrading
- Upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later to resolve the insecure token storage vulnerability
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-13909 — 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-2017-13909 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data