CVE-2023-42931: Apple macOS Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2023-42931 Overview

CVE-2023-42931 is a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting multiple versions of Apple macOS. The vulnerability allows a local process to gain administrative privileges without proper authentication due to insufficient security checks in the operating system. This flaw was addressed by Apple with improved validation checks in the affected components.

Critical Impact

A malicious local process can escalate to administrative privileges without proper authentication, potentially allowing complete system compromise on affected macOS systems.

Affected Products

• macOS Ventura versions prior to 13.6.3
• macOS Sonoma versions prior to 14.2
• macOS Monterey versions prior to 12.7.2

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-03-28 - CVE-2023-42931 published to NVD
• 2025-11-04 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2023-42931

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper permission handling (CWE-280) within macOS system components. The flaw allows a locally authenticated process to bypass authentication mechanisms and obtain administrative privileges that should require explicit user authorization or credential verification.

The attack requires local access to the target system, meaning an attacker must already have some level of access—such as through a compromised user account, malware execution, or physical access. Once exploited, the attacker can elevate their privileges to administrative level, gaining the ability to modify system configurations, install persistent malware, access protected data, and potentially disable security controls.

The local attack vector means that while remote exploitation is not directly possible, this vulnerability could serve as a critical link in an attack chain where initial access is obtained through other means such as phishing or exploitation of a separate remote vulnerability.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2023-42931 lies in insufficient validation checks within macOS privilege handling mechanisms. Specifically, the operating system failed to properly verify authentication state before granting elevated privileges to requesting processes. This aligns with CWE-280 (Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges), where the system does not adequately enforce permission boundaries.

Apple's fix introduced "improved checks" to ensure that privilege elevation requests are properly authenticated and authorized before being granted, closing the authentication bypass pathway.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability requires local access to exploit, meaning an attacker needs to execute code on the target macOS system. The attack flow typically involves:

1. Attacker gains initial foothold on macOS system (low-privilege user context)
2. Malicious process or script leverages the authentication bypass flaw
3. Process requests elevated privileges without providing proper credentials
4. Due to insufficient checks, administrative privileges are granted
5. Attacker now operates with full administrative control

The exploitation does not require user interaction once the attacker has local code execution capability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may inadvertently run untrusted code.

Detection Methods for CVE-2023-42931

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected privilege escalation events in system logs where processes gain administrative access without corresponding authentication prompts
• Anomalous process behavior where non-administrative applications suddenly perform privileged operations
• System Integrity Protection (SIP) bypass attempts or unauthorized modifications to protected system directories
• Unusual sudo or authorization framework activity without corresponding user authentication

Detection Strategies

• Monitor macOS Unified Logs for authentication and authorization events, particularly com.apple.Authorization and com.apple.securityd subsystems
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying privilege escalation attempts and unexpected process privilege changes
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system directories to detect unauthorized modifications that may follow privilege escalation
• Configure alerts for processes that obtain administrative privileges without standard authentication workflows

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the Authorization Services framework on macOS endpoints
• Utilize SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect anomalous privilege escalation patterns that may indicate exploitation of this or similar vulnerabilities
• Review endpoint logs for processes executing privileged operations from unexpected contexts or user sessions
• Monitor for creation of new administrative accounts or modification of existing user privileges

How to Mitigate CVE-2023-42931

Immediate Actions Required

• Update all affected macOS systems to the patched versions: macOS Monterey 12.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.6.3, or macOS Sonoma 14.2 or later
• Prioritize patching for systems in sensitive environments or those accessible to multiple users
• Audit systems for signs of compromise before patching, as the vulnerability may have been exploited prior to remediation
• Restrict local code execution capabilities for untrusted applications using macOS Gatekeeper and application allowlisting

Patch Information

Apple has released security updates addressing this vulnerability across three macOS versions:

• macOS Monterey 12.7.2 - See Apple Support Article HT214038 for details
• macOS Ventura 13.6.3 - See Apple Support Article HT214037 for details
• macOS Sonoma 14.2 - See Apple Support Article HT214036 for details

Organizations should apply these updates immediately through Apple's Software Update mechanism or enterprise deployment tools such as MDM solutions.

Workarounds

• Implement strict application control policies to prevent execution of untrusted code that could attempt privilege escalation
• Enable and enforce macOS System Integrity Protection (SIP) to limit the impact of potential privilege escalation
• Apply the principle of least privilege for user accounts, limiting the number of users with administrative access
• Utilize network segmentation and endpoint isolation for critical systems until patches can be applied

# Verify current macOS version and patch status
sw_vers

# Check System Integrity Protection status
csrutil status

# Review recent authorization events for anomalies
log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.Authorization"' --last 24h

# List users with administrative privileges for audit
dscl . -read /Groups/admin GroupMembership