dbcve.org
Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-42942

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1 / 13.6.1 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in watchOS 10.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1, tvOS 17.1, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.

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

A symlink handling vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems allows a malicious application to escalate privileges to root. The issue was addressed with improved symlink handling logic in the affected OS versions.

MitigationApply the available security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (iOS 16.7.2/17.1, iPadOS 16.7.2/17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1/Sonoma 14.1, watchOS 10.1, tvOS 17.1).

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
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2
IpadosOperating system
Affected:= 17.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2= 17.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.6.1= 14.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:<= 17.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.1

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check iOS version on iPhone
    On the iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Alternatively, use Xcode or a mobile device management (MDM) solution to query the iOS version programmatically.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 16.7.2 or equals 17.0
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    On the iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Alternatively, use Xcode or a mobile device management (MDM) solution to query the iPadOS version programmatically.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 16.7.2 or equals 17.0
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers -productVersion' to retrieve the macOS version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 13.0 through 13.6.0 (any version >= 13.0 but < 13.6.1) or equals 14.0
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    On the Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About and note the version. Alternatively, check via the Watch app on a paired iPhone under My Watch > General > About, or use Apple Configurator or MDM.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 10.1
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About to view the tvOS version. Alternatively, use Xcode, Apple Configurator, or MDM to query the version remotely.
    Affected if The installed version is 17.1 or lower (any version <= 17.1)

If the device runs any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, or tvOS version that falls within the ranges listed in the affected products, the environment is vulnerable to this symlink privilege escalation flaw.

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 10.1 / 13.6.1 / 16.7.2 or later
Fixed in 10.113.6.116.7.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (iOS 16.7.2/17.1, iPadOS 16.7.2/17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1/Sonoma 14.1, watchOS 10.1, tvOS 17.1).

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.7.2+/iPadOS 16.7.2+, iOS 17.1+/iPadOS 17.1+, macOS Ventura 13.6.1+, macOS Sonoma 14.1+, tvOS 17.1+, watchOS 10.1+

  1. Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV)
  2. Determine the current installed OS version via Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings/About This Mac (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.7.2 or later, or iOS 17.1/iPadOS 17.1
  4. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.6.1 or macOS Sonoma 14.1
  5. For Apple Watch: On iPhone, open Watch app > General > Software Update and install watchOS 10.1
  6. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 17.1
  7. After updating, verify the new OS version is installed and confirm the vulnerability is patched
Caveat Standard Apple OS updates may include feature changes; backup device before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipad Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42942 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-42942 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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