CVE-2023-40435
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed by enabling hardened runtime. This issue is fixed in Xcode 15. An app may be able to access App Store credentials.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Xcode allowed an application to potentially access App Store credentials that should have been protected. The issue was caused by missing hardened runtime enforcement, which is a macOS security feature that provides runtime code signing protections and prevents certain types of code injection attacks.
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< 15.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Xcode versionOpen Terminal and run: xcodebuild -versionAffected if The version listed is below 15.0 (e.g., 14.x, 13.x)
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Verify hardened runtime status in Xcode projectOpen your Xcode project, select the target, go to Signing & Capabilities tab, and check if 'Hardened Runtime' is enabled under the Capabilities sectionAffected if Hardened Runtime is disabled or not present in the build settings
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Check for hardened runtime in build settings directlyIn Xcode, go to Build Settings for your target and search for 'Hardened Runtime' - verify the setting is set to 'Yes' for all configurationsAffected if Hardened Runtime is set to 'No' or is missing
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Inspect code signing settingsIn Xcode Build Settings, check that 'Enable Code Signing' is set to 'Yes' and 'Code Signing Identity' is set to 'Apple Distribution' or a valid signing identityAffected if Code signing is disabled or misconfigured alongside missing hardened runtime
You are affected if your Xcode version is below 15.0 AND your project has hardened runtime disabled in the build settings, as this combination allows potential App Store credential access.
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.
dbcve · scoped15.0
Enable hardened runtime in the Xcode project build settings under Signing & Capabilities, rebuild the application, and verify that App Store credential access is properly restricted.
Xcode 15.0
- Upgrade Xcode to version 15.0 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40435 — 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-2023-40435 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