dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-28192

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7.5 / 12.6.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 · unedited
A permissions issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3, macOS Monterey 12.6.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.5. An app may be able to read sensitive location information.

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 confidence

This is a macOS permissions bypass vulnerability where an application could read sensitive location information without proper authorization. The flaw involved insufficient validation of permission checks, allowing an app to access location data that should have been protected. Apple addressed this with improved permission validation in the specified macOS versions.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.3, Monterey 12.6.4, or Big Sur 11.7.5) to all affected systems to receive the improved location permission validation.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7.5>= 12.0, < 12.6.4>= 13.0, < 13.3

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Overview tab, or run `sw_vers` in Terminal
    Affected if The version is 11.0 to 11.7.5, 12.0 to 12.6.4, or 13.0 to 13.3 (unpatched)
  2. Verify Location Services status
    Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Location Services (or System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services on Ventura), or run `sudo defaults read /var/db/locationd/Library/Preferences/com.apple.locationd.plist`
    Affected if Location Services is enabled and the macOS version is in the affected range
  3. Identify apps with location access
    Open Location Services privacy settings and review the list of applications granted location access
    Affected if Any third-party application has location permission granted on an unpatched macOS version

A system is affected if it runs an unpatched macOS version (11.x before 11.7.5, 12.x before 12.6.4, or 13.x before 13.3) and has Location Services enabled with apps granted location access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.7.5 / 12.6.4 / 13.3 or later
Fixed in 11.7.512.6.413.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.3, Monterey 12.6.4, or Big Sur 11.7.5) to all affected systems to receive the improved location permission validation.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.3 / macOS Monterey 12.6.4 / macOS Big Sur 11.7.5 (depending on your current major version)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before upgrading
  2. Check your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  3. For macOS 13.x (Ventura): Open System Settings, go to General > Software Update, and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.3 or later
  4. For macOS 12.x (Monterey): Open System Preferences, go to Software Update, and upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.6.4 or later
  5. For macOS 11.x (Big Sur): Open System Preferences, go to Software Update, and upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.7.5 or later
  6. After upgrading, verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility and back up data before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28192 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-28192 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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