CVE-2023-41980
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 · uneditedA permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14. An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences.
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 is a permissions bypass vulnerability in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma 14 where an application could circumvent Privacy preferences. The vulnerability allowed apps to access protected user data or settings that should have been restricted by the operating system's privacy controls.
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< 17.0< 17.0< 14.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS version on iPhoneOn the iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'. Alternatively, check via iTunes/Finder when the device is connected.Affected if The version shown is earlier than 17.0 (for example, 16.7.x or earlier)
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOn the iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'.Affected if The version shown is earlier than 17.0 (for example, 16.7.x or earlier)
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Check macOS version on MacOn Mac, open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS) and go to About. The version number is displayed there. Alternatively, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal.Affected if The version shown is earlier than 14.0 (for example, 13.x or earlier)
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Confirm device type and OS combinationIdentify whether the device is an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, then verify the corresponding OS version against the appropriate threshold.Affected if The device runs iOS below 17.0, iPadOS below 17.0, or macOS below 14.0
A device is affected if it runs iOS, iPadOS, or macOS versions earlier than the respective 17.0 or 14.0 releases, as those versions contain the fix that adds additional restrictions to prevent privacy preference bypass.
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 · scoped14.017.0
Update affected devices to iOS 17 or later, iPadOS 17 or later, or macOS Sonoma 14 or later to receive the security fix that adds additional restrictions preventing privacy preference bypass.
iOS 17 / iPadOS 17 / macOS Sonoma 14
- On iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update, then download and install iOS 17
- On iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update, then download and install iPadOS 17
- On Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update, then download and install macOS Sonoma 14
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-41980 — 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-2023-41980 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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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.
- 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