CVE-2023-42934VulnerabilityPublished 10 Jan 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-42934: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An app with root privileges may be able to access private information

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.2 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.2Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

1. Promptly update all iOS and iPadOS devices to version 17 or later, and macOS devices to Sonoma 14 or later, as these versions contain the patch removing the vulnerable code. 2. Restrict installation of apps requiring root privileges; enforce strict mobile device management (MDM) policies to prevent unauthorized apps from gaining elevated privileges. 3. Avoid jailbreaking or rooting devices as this significantly increases risk by enabling apps to gain root access. 4. Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring for suspicious local privilege escalations or unusual app behavior on Apple devices. 5. Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted apps and the importance of applying OS updates promptly. 6. Regularly audit device configurations and installed applications to ensure compliance with security policies. 7. For high-security environments, consider additional encryption and data loss prevention (DLP) controls to protect sensitive data even if device confidentiality is compromised.

Description

An information disclosure issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. An app with root privileges may be able to access private information.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-42934 is the potential exposure of sensitive or private information on iOS and iPadOS devices if an attacker can run an app with root privileges. While the vulnerability itself does not allow privilege escalation or denial of service, it can be exploited post-compromise to extract confidential data, which may include corporate emails, contacts, or other sensitive app data. This can lead to privacy violations, intellectual property theft, or regulatory compliance issues under GDPR. The requirement for root privileges and user interaction reduces the likelihood of widespread exploitation but does not eliminate risk in targeted attacks, especially in environments where devices are jailbroken or compromised through other vulnerabilities. Organizations relying heavily on Apple mobile devices for sensitive communications or operations should consider this a moderate risk until patched. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate threat but vigilance is necessary given the potential for future exploitation.

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #20OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
ICMP Echo Request Ping (opens in a new tab)
TCP SYN Scan (opens in a new tab)
Enumerate Mail Exchange (MX) Records (opens in a new tab)
DNS Zone Transfers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 20:07 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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