CVE-2023-42855

Account persistence via Setup Assistant state flaw

Published Feb 21, 2024 · Updated Nov 4, 2025

Improper state management in Setup Assistant in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 17.1 allows physically proximate attackers to persist an Apple ID. Apple has not disclosed which Setup Assistant state transition or validation permits the account association to survive erasure. Exploitation requires physical access while the erased device is being set up, and the reported consequence is silent account persistence.

CVSS severity4.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper state management in Setup Assistant in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 17.1 allows physically proximate attackers to persist an Apple ID. Apple has not disclosed which Setup Assistant state transition or validation permits the account association to survive erasure. Exploitation requires physical access while the erased device is being set up, and the reported consequence is silent account persistence.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-42855
Published
Feb 21, 2024
Updated
Nov 4, 2025
Vendor
Apple
Product
iOS and iPadOS
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
physical
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 4, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <17.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorphysical
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · iOS and iPadOSversion=unspecified <17.1

Published CVSS scores

4.6NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.6CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorphysical
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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

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Your stack

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