dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-42887

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.6.4 / 14.2 or later.
See remediation →
66/100
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
An access issue was addressed with additional sandbox restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.6.4, macOS Sonoma 14.2. An app may be able to read arbitrary files.

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

This is a macOS sandbox bypass vulnerability where a malicious or compromised application could read arbitrary files outside its intended sandbox boundaries. The fix involved adding additional sandbox restrictions to prevent unauthorized file system access.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Ventura 13.6.4 or later, Sonoma 14.2 or later) to affected systems to receive the sandbox restriction fixes.

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, < 13.6.4>= 14.0, < 14.2

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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. Determine the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or go to System Settings > General > About
    Affected if The version falls within 13.0 to 13.6.3, or 14.0 to 14.1 (unpatched)
  2. Identify the major macOS release name
    Check if the system is running Ventura (13.x) or Sonoma (14.x) from the version output
    Affected if Running Ventura (13.x) below 13.6.4, or Sonoma (14.x) below 14.2
  3. Confirm the patch state
    Check System Settings > General > Software Update for available updates, or run 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' to see installation date of updates
    Affected if No security update to 13.6.4+ or 14.2+ has been installed

The system is affected if it runs macOS Ventura 13.0-13.6.3 or Sonoma 14.0-14.1 and has not received the corresponding security update.

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 13.6.4 / 14.2 or later
Fixed in 13.6.414.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates (Ventura 13.6.4 or later, Sonoma 14.2 or later) to affected systems to receive the sandbox restriction fixes.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.6.4 or macOS Sonoma 14.2

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before performing system updates
  2. Check your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. If running macOS Ventura (13.x), upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.6.4 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. If running macOS Sonoma (14.0-14.1), upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.2 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  5. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac shows the correct version number
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - verify critical applications are compatible with the target version 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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA0.5 h
4.5 hours of engineering $800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,280.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-42887 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