Apple watchOS up to 9.4 Sandbox improper authorization

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
6.1	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple watchOS up to 9.4. It has been classified as problematic. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component Sandbox. The manipulation leads to improper authorization. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-32357. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple watchOS up to 9.4 (Smartwatch Operating System) and classified as problematic. This issue affects an unknown code block of the component Sandbox. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a improper authorization vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-285. The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.7, macOS Monterey 12.6.6, iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5. An app may be able to retain access to system configuration files even after its permission is revoked.

The weakness was disclosed 05/18/2023 by Yiğit Can YILMAZ as HT213764 as confirmed advisory (Website). The advisory is shared at support.apple.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-32357. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1548.002 for this issue. The advisory points out:

An app may be able to retain access to system configuration files even after its permission is revoked

Upgrading to version 9.5 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability. The advisory contains the following remark:

An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-36601). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Smartwatch Operating System

Vendor

Apple

Name

watchOS

Version

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.2
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.1

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.1
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Improper authorization
CWE: CWE-285 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Upgrade: watchOS 9.5

Timelineinfo

05/08/2023 🔍
05/18/2023 +10 days 🔍
05/18/2023 +0 days 🔍
05/20/2023 +2 days 🔍
12/30/2025 +955 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: HT213764
Researcher: Yiğit Can YILMAZ
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-32357 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-32357
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-229577
EUVD: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 05/20/2023 08:32
Updated: 12/30/2025 18:19
Changes: 05/20/2023 08:32 (19), 05/20/2023 08:35 (27), 06/15/2023 09:59 (1), 12/05/2024 19:24 (27), 12/30/2025 18:19 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.