dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-32444

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7.9 / 12.6.8 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 logic issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, macOS Ventura 13.5. A sandboxed process may be able to circumvent sandbox restrictions.

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 confidence

A logic validation flaw in macOS allows a sandboxed process to escape sandbox restrictions, potentially enabling a malicious application to access resources outside its intended permission boundaries. This vulnerability affects macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, Monterey 12.6.8, and Ventura 13.4 and earlier.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Big Sur 11.7.9+, Monterey 12.6.8+, Ventura 13.5+) to remediate the sandbox escape vulnerability.

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:< 11.7.9>= 12.0, < 12.6.8>= 13.0, < 13.5

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Identify the installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion. Alternatively, go to System Settings > General > About and read the macOS version.
    Affected if The displayed version is below the fixed release for your macOS release family.
  2. Determine the macOS release family
    Examine the version number: 11.x = Big Sur, 12.x = Monterey, 13.x = Ventura.
    Affected if The version falls into any of the affected families.
  3. Compare against Big Sur affected range
    If running macOS 11.x (Big Sur), verify the full version is 11.7.9 or higher.
    Affected if Version is 11.7.8 or earlier.
  4. Compare against Monterey affected range
    If running macOS 12.x (Monterey), verify the full version is 12.6.8 or higher.
    Affected if Version is 12.6.7 or earlier.
  5. Compare against Ventura affected range
    If running macOS 13.x (Ventura), verify the full version is 13.5 or higher.
    Affected if Version is 13.4 or earlier.

You are affected if your installed macOS version falls below 11.7.9 on Big Sur, below 12.6.8 on Monterey, or below 13.5 on Ventura.

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 11.7.9 / 12.6.8 / 13.5 or later
Fixed in 11.7.912.6.813.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates (Big Sur 11.7.9+, Monterey 12.6.8+, Ventura 13.5+) to remediate the sandbox escape vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, or macOS Ventura 13.5 (depending on which base OS version is currently installed)

  1. Determine current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  2. If running macOS Big Sur (11.x), upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.7.9 or later
  3. If running macOS Monterey (12.x), upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.6.8 or later
  4. If running macOS Ventura (13.x), upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.5 or later
  5. Use Software Update (System Settings > General > Software Update) to install the security update
  6. Restart the system when prompted to complete the update
Caveat MacOS upgrades may introduce compatibility issues with older applications; verify critical software compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-32444 — 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-2023-32444 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