Root privilege escalation via redirected Spotlight writes
Published Sep 26, 2023 · Updated Feb 13, 2025
Local privilege escalation in Spotlight in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 17 allows local users to gain root privileges through an app. Spotlight performs insecure privileged writes on user-provided volumes, and moving a mount point redirects those writes to an attacker-chosen location. Exploitation requires local app execution and user interaction, after which the app obtains root-level access.
Summary
What happened
Local privilege escalation in Spotlight in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 17 allows local users to gain root privileges through an app. Spotlight performs insecure privileged writes on user-provided volumes, and moving a mount point redirects those writes to an attacker-chosen location. Exploitation requires local app execution and user interaction, after which the app obtains root-level access.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-40443
- Published
- Sep 26, 2023
- Updated
- Feb 13, 2025
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- iOS and iPadOS
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 26, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <17
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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