CVE-2023-42931
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 · uneditedThe issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.6.3, macOS Sonoma 14.2, macOS Monterey 12.7.2. A process may gain admin privileges without proper 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 · moderate confidenceA local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS allowed a process to obtain admin privileges without proper authentication. The fix implemented improved validation checks to ensure proper authentication before granting elevated privileges.
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>= 12.0, < 12.7.2>= 13.0, < 13.6.3>= 14.0, < 14.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 macOS versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version falls within 12.0 to 12.7.2, 13.0 to 13.6.3, or 14.0 to 14.2 (unpatched systems)
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Confirm patch stateOpen System Settings > General > Software Update to verify no remaining updates are availableAffected if Security Update X.XX or similar patches are not installed on vulnerable version ranges
A system is affected if it runs macOS Monterey 12.0-12.7.2, Ventura 13.0-13.6.3, or Sonoma 14.0-14.2 and has not applied the corresponding security updates.
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 · scoped12.7.213.6.314.2
Apply the macOS security updates (Ventura 13.6.3, Sonoma 14.2, or Monterey 12.7.2) to all affected systems to remediate the vulnerability.
macOS Monterey 12.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.6.3, or macOS Sonoma 14.2 (depending on your current major version)
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before applying system updates
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Click 'Check for Updates' or allow automatic updates to install
- Install macOS Monterey 12.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.6.3, or macOS Sonoma 14.2 depending on which major version line you are currently on
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the update was successful by checking the macOS version in About This Mac
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42931 — 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-2023-42931 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
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