CVE-2018-4223
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 11.4 is affected. macOS before 10.13.5 is affected. tvOS before 11.4 is affected. watchOS before 4.3.1 is affected. The issue involves the "Security" component. It allows local users to bypass intended restrictions on the reading of a persistent account identifier.
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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability in Apple's Security component allows local users to bypass intended restrictions and read a persistent account identifier that should be protected. It affects iOS before 11.4, macOS before 10.13.5, tvOS before 11.4, and watchOS before 4.3.1. This is a local information disclosure issue where the Security framework fails to properly enforce access controls on sensitive identifier 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< 11.4< 11.4< 10.13.5< 4.3.1CVSS 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 macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Preferences > AboutAffected if Version is below 10.13.5
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Check iOS versionOpen Settings > General > About on the iOS deviceAffected if Version is below 11.4
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Check tvOS versionOpen Settings > General > About on the Apple TVAffected if Version is below 11.4
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Check watchOS versionOpen Settings > General > About on the Apple Watch via iPhone Watch appAffected if Version is below 4.3.1
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Verify Security framework usageCheck if applications or services on the system access account identifiers through the Security framework API (keychain items or persistent identifiers)Affected if Any app or service uses the Security framework to store or retrieve account identifiers and the OS version is in the affected range
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Confirm local user accessVerify that local user accounts exist on the system or deviceAffected if Local user accounts are present and the OS version is vulnerable
The system is affected if it runs any affected OS version (iOS < 11.4, macOS < 10.13.5, tvOS < 11.4, or watchOS < 4.3.1) and uses the Security framework to handle account identifiers.
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 data4.3.110.13.511.4
Apply the vendor-supplied OS updates: iOS 11.4+, macOS 10.13.5+, tvOS 11.4+, and watchOS 4.3.1+ to patch the Security component restriction bypass.
- 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-2018-4223 — 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-2018-4223 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data