CVE-2023-42947 in watchOS
Summary
by MITRE • 03/28/2024
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.6.3, iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/13/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical sandbox escape issue affecting multiple Apple operating systems including macOS Monterey 12.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.6.3, iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, and macOS Sonoma 14.2. The flaw stems from inadequate path validation mechanisms that allow malicious applications to circumvent system security boundaries. From a cybersecurity perspective, this issue directly impacts the fundamental security model of Apple's operating systems where applications are expected to operate within isolated sandbox environments to prevent unauthorized access to system resources and user data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-22 as improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal attacks. This weakness enables adversaries to manipulate file system access by exploiting insufficient input validation of file paths.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves malicious applications exploiting weaknesses in how the operating system validates file paths and directory access permissions. When applications attempt to access files or directories, the system should enforce strict validation to prevent access to restricted areas of the file system. However, the flawed validation allows attackers to craft specific path sequences that bypass these security checks. This can potentially enable attackers to access sensitive system files, user data, or other applications' sandboxes. The operational impact extends beyond simple data access, as this vulnerability could allow for privilege escalation attacks, data exfiltration, and potentially persistent access to affected systems. Security researchers have noted that such sandbox escape vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they undermine the core security architecture designed to isolate applications from each other and from system resources.
From an adversary tactics perspective, this vulnerability aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1055 technique for privilege escalation and T1070 for indicator removal. Attackers could leverage this flaw to move laterally within a compromised system, access additional applications, or extract sensitive information from other sandboxed processes. The remediation approach requires immediate deployment of the security updates provided by Apple, which implement improved path validation mechanisms to prevent malicious path manipulation. Organizations should prioritize patch management for all affected operating systems and consider implementing additional monitoring for suspicious file access patterns. System administrators should also review application permissions and sandbox configurations to ensure that applications have only the minimum required access to system resources, thereby reducing the potential impact if such vulnerabilities are exploited in the wild. The vulnerability demonstrates the ongoing challenge in maintaining secure sandbox implementations as attackers continue to discover novel methods for bypassing system security controls through path manipulation and access control flaws.