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CVE-2023-42855VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-42855: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An attacker with physical access may be able to silently persist an Apple ID on an erased device in

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.6 Medium : upgrade to 17.1 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:11 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
4.6Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 17.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 21 Feb 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

What to do

Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to 17.1.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Apple iOS and iPadOSAffected
  • <17.1
Fixed in
  • 17.1

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should prioritize updating all Apple iOS and iPadOS devices to version 17.1 or later, where the issue is fixed. Implement strict physical security controls to prevent unauthorized physical access to devices, including secure storage, device tracking, and access logging. Enforce policies for device handling, especially during decommissioning or transfer, ensuring devices are updated and securely wiped using trusted methods. Employ Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to monitor device compliance and detect anomalies such as unauthorized Apple ID persistence. Educate users and IT staff about the risks of physical access attacks and the importance of timely updates. For high-risk environments, consider additional hardware protections such as secure boot and hardware encryption. Regularly audit device inventories and conduct security assessments to verify that devices are not compromised. Finally, maintain incident response plans that account for potential persistence mechanisms on erased devices.

Description

This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1. An attacker with physical access may be able to silently persist an Apple ID on an erased device.

References

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