dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-36862

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.5 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 downgrade issue affecting Intel-based Mac computers was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.5. An app may be able to determine a user’s current location.

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

A code-signing downgrade vulnerability in macOS allowed applications on Intel-based Mac computers to bypass location privacy protections and determine a user's current location without proper authorization. The fix in macOS Ventura 13.5 introduced additional code-signing restrictions to prevent this bypass.

MitigationUpdate affected Intel-based Mac systems to macOS Ventura 13.5 or later to apply the code-signing restrictions that address this 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:>= 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
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 macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or open System Settings > General > About to view the installed macOS version
    Affected if Version starts with 13.0, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, or 13.4 (13.0 <= version < 13.5)
  2. Check Mac hardware architecture
    Run 'uname -m' in Terminal. If it returns 'x86_64', the Mac uses an Intel processor. If it returns 'arm64', it is an Apple Silicon Mac and not affected by this specific vulnerability
    Affected if The command returns 'x86_64' indicating Intel-based hardware

The system is affected only if it is an Intel-based Mac (x86_64) running macOS Ventura version 13.0 through 13.4. Apple Silicon Macs are not vulnerable to this specific code-signing bypass flaw.

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 13.5 or later
Fixed in 13.5
Interim mitigation

Update affected Intel-based Mac systems to macOS Ventura 13.5 or later to apply the code-signing restrictions that address this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.5

  1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
  2. Navigate to General > Software Update
  3. Allow the system to check for updates
  4. If macOS 13.5 is available, click "Update Now" or "Upgrade Now" to download and install the update
  5. Restart the Mac if prompted

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-36862 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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