CVE-2017-2423
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. iOS before 10.3 is affected. macOS before 10.12.4 is affected. The issue involves the "Security" component. It allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by leveraging a successful result from a SecKeyRawVerify API call with an empty signature.
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 confidenceA logic vulnerability in Apple's Security framework allows the SecKeyRawVerify API to incorrectly return a successful verification result when given an empty signature. This enables remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by leveraging this false-positive verification outcome.
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<= 10.2.1<= 10.12.3CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field, or use Xcode device info or MDM inventoryAffected if Version is 10.2.1 or lower (e.g., 10.2, 10.1, 10.0)
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Check macOS version on Mac computersClick Apple menu > About This Mac and look at the macOS version, or run 'sw_vers' in TerminalAffected if Version is 10.12.3 or lower (e.g., 10.12.3, 10.12.2, 10.12.1, 10.12.0)
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Identify applications using SecKeyRawVerifySearch application binaries or source code for calls to SecKeyRawVerify function, or review cryptographic implementation documentationAffected if Applications perform signature verification using SecKeyRawVerify and accept external signatures
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Check if signature input can be empty or omittedReview the code that provides signature data to SecKeyRawVerify - check if signature length can be zero or if signatures are optional in the protocolAffected if The application allows verification attempts with empty, missing, or zero-length signature parameters
A system is affected if it runs iOS 10.2.1 or earlier or macOS 10.12.3 or earlier AND uses code that calls SecKeyRawVerify with externally supplied signature data that could be empty.
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 · scopedApply the vendor-supplied OS updates: iOS 10.3 or later, macOS 10.12.4 or later. For systems that cannot be updated, implement additional authentication controls as a compensating measure.
iOS 10.3 or later | macOS 10.12.4 or later
- For iOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 10.3 or later
- For Mac computers: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install the macOS 10.12.4 update or later
- Alternatively, download the iOS 10.3 update from Apple or use iTunes to update your iOS device
- After updating, verify the Security component has been patched by checking the iOS or macOS version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-2423 — 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-2017-2423 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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