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Full vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2023-42844High confidence

This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks

Apple · macOS

7.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2023-47265

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. A website may be able to access sensitive user data when resolving symlinks.

What

This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. A website may be able to access sensitive user data when resolving symlinks.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. A website may be able to access sensitive user data when resolving symlinks.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-59 ↗

CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'). The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-59
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-W-2023-2753Apple macOS: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Apple macOS ausnutzen, um beliebigen Code auszuführen, einen Denial-of-Service-Zustand zu verursachen, Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu umgehen oder vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen.

Official advisory
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2023-AVI-0890Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Apple

d?id=CVE-2023-41977 Référence CVE CVE-2023-41982 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41982 Référence CVE CVE-2023-41983 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41983 Référence CVE CVE-2023-41988 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41988 Référence CVE CVE-2023-41989 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41989 Référence CVE CVE-2023-41997 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41997 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42438 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42438 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42841 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42841 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42842 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42842 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42844 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42844 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42845 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42845 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42846 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42846 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42847 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42847 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42849 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42849 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42850 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42850 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42852 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42852 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42854 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42854 Référence CVE CVE-2023-42856 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
unspecified < 14.1; unspecified < 13.6; unspecified < 12.7
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 25 Oct 2023 · Last source change 13 Feb 2025, 17:09 UTC · CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-47265
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-47265↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2023-42844 · cve.blacktree.nl