CVE-2023-42845
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 · uneditedAn authentication issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1. Photos in the Hidden Photos Album may be viewed without authentication.
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 confidenceAuthentication bypass in Apple Photos where the Hidden Photos Album could be accessed without requiring Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode authentication due to improper state management in iOS 17.1, iPadOS 17.1, and macOS Sonoma 14.1.
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, < 17.1>= 17.0, < 17.1>= 14.0, < 14.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 iOS version on iPhoneOpen Settings > General > About and look at the version numberAffected if Version is 17.0.x (any version from 17.0 through 17.0.x before 17.1)
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOpen Settings > General > About and look at the version numberAffected if Version is 17.0.x (any version from 17.0 through 17.0.x before 17.1)
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Check macOS version on MacOpen System Settings > About (or System Preferences > About on older macOS) and look at the version numberAffected if Version is 14.0.x (any version from 14.0 through 14.0.x before 14.1)
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Verify if Hidden Photos album exists and test accessOpen Photos app, go to Albums, scroll to the Utilities section, tap on Hidden album and observe if it opens without prompting for Face ID, Touch ID, or passcodeAffected if The Hidden album opens immediately without any biometric or passcode authentication prompt
You are affected if your device runs iOS 17.0.x, iPadOS 17.0.x, or macOS 14.0.x, or if the Hidden Photos album can be accessed without authentication on these versions.
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 · scoped14.117.1
Apply Apple's security updates: iOS 17.1/iPadOS 17.1 and macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later contain the fix for improved state validation.
iOS 17.1, iPadOS 17.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1
- For iPhone: Open Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 17.1 or later
- For iPad: Open Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 17.1 or later
- For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42845 — 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-2023-42845 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