Gatekeeper bypass via AppleScript state-management error
Published Sep 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024
A logic error in AppleScript in Apple macOS allows local users to bypass Gatekeeper checks by launching a malicious application. Apple identifies faulty state management in the AppleScript component but has not disclosed the affected state transition or the check it skips. Exploitation requires user interaction to launch the local application, after which attacker-supplied code runs without Gatekeeper's normal trust evaluation.
Summary
What happened
A logic error in AppleScript in Apple macOS allows local users to bypass Gatekeeper checks by launching a malicious application. Apple identifies faulty state management in the AppleScript component but has not disclosed the affected state transition or the check it skips. Exploitation requires user interaction to launch the local application, after which attacker-supplied code runs without Gatekeeper's normal trust evaluation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-30669
- Published
- Sep 8, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2024
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- macOS
- Classifications
- CWE-494, CAPEC-184, T1204.002, T1553.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <11.4
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <2021
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo