CVE-2018-4158
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 11.3 is affected. macOS before 10.13.4 is affected. watchOS before 4.3 is affected. The issue involves the "CoreFoundation" component. A race condition allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context via a crafted app.
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 race condition in CoreFoundation on iOS before 11.3, macOS before 10.13.4, and watchOS before 4.3 allows a crafted malicious application to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context. The vulnerability exploits timing windows in the CoreFoundation framework to elevate privileges beyond what the app should normally have.
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< 11.3< 10.13.4< 4.3CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 > Version, or use the mobile device management (MDM) server to query the device inventoryAffected if The version shown is below 11.3 (for example, 11.2.x or earlier)
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Check macOS version on MacClick Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in TerminalAffected if The version shown is below 10.13.4 (for example, 10.13.3 or earlier)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to General > About, and note the watchOS versionAffected if The version shown is below 4.3 (for example, 4.2.x or earlier)
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Confirm CoreFoundation is loaded (macOS)Run 'dyld_info -lazy /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/CoreFoundation' to verify the framework exists on the systemAffected if The framework is present and the OS version check in step 2 shows a vulnerable version
The environment is affected if any device runs iOS below 11.3, macOS below 10.13.4, or watchOS below 4.3, as the race condition in CoreFoundation can be exploited to gain privileged code execution.
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 data4.310.13.411.3
Apply the appropriate OS update: iOS 11.3 or later, macOS 10.13.4 or later, or watchOS 4.3 or later. In enterprise environments, use patch management to deploy updates across all affected devices.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4158 — 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-2018-4158 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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