CVE-2023-27951Public exploit

Gatekeeper bypass via omitted quarantine attribute

Published May 8, 2023 · Updated Jan 29, 2025

Incorrect authorization in Apple macOS Archive Utility allows attackers to bypass Gatekeeper by extracting a crafted archive. Archive Utility fails to propagate the com.apple.quarantine attribute to an extracted Mach-O file whose name begins with ._, leaving it executable without Gatekeeper inspection. A user must download and extract the archive; Big Sur before 11.7.5, Monterey before 12.6.4, and Ventura before 13.3 are affected.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in Apple macOS Archive Utility allows attackers to bypass Gatekeeper by extracting a crafted archive. Archive Utility fails to propagate the com.apple.quarantine attribute to an extracted Mach-O file whose name begins with ._, leaving it executable without Gatekeeper inspection. A user must download and extract the archive; Big Sur before 11.7.5, Monterey before 12.6.4, and Ventura before 13.3 are affected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-27951
Published
May 8, 2023
Updated
Jan 29, 2025
Vendor
Apple
Product
macOS
Classifications
CWE-863, T1553.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 8, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 29, 2025Record 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <11.7
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <12.6
  3. Affected versionversion=unspecified <13.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · macOSversion=unspecified <11.7; version=unspecified <12.6; version=unspecified <13.3

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1553.001Subvert Trust Controls: Gatekeeper Bypass

Public exploit references

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