CVE-2023-40421
macOS vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

CVE-2023-40421 is a permissions vulnerability discovered in Apple's macOS operating systems that was fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, and macOS Ventura 13.6.1, released on October 25, 2023. The vulnerability was discovered by Noah Roskin-Frazee and Prof. J. from the ZeroClicks.ai Lab (Apple Support).

Technical details

The vulnerability exists in the talagent component of macOS and is characterized as a permissions issue. The vulnerability allows an app to potentially access sensitive user data. Apple addressed this security issue by implementing additional restrictions to the permissions system (Apple Support, NVD). The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 MEDIUM (Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) (NVD).

Impact

The primary impact of this vulnerability is that a malicious application may be able to access sensitive user data, potentially compromising user privacy (Apple Support).

Mitigation and workarounds

Apple has addressed this vulnerability by implementing additional restrictions in the permissions system. Users are advised to update to macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, or macOS Ventura 13.6.1 or later versions to protect against this vulnerability (Apple Support).

Additional resources


SourceThis report was generated using AI

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