The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program has recently identified a security issue tagged as CVE-2023-32442, an access restriction vulnerability within the Shortcuts app for macOS. This CVE involves a situation where a malicious shortcut may be able to modify sensitive settings within the app, potentially compromising user data and system security. Fortunately, this issue has been addressed in the macOS Ventura 13.5 and macOS Monterey 12.6.8 updates with improved access restrictions.

In this long-read post, we will provide a detailed breakdown of the CVE-2023-32442 vulnerability, code snippets demonstrating how the vulnerability could be exploited, original references to the security advisory, and more information about the corresponding macOS updates.

Exploit Details

The CVE-2023-32442 vulnerability is an access issue that revolves around a malicious shortcut's ability to modify sensitive settings within the macOS Shortcuts app. A flaw allowed shortcuts to bypass the standard access controls, potentially resulting in unauthorized access of user data and app settings. This vulnerability could potentially be exploited by a crafted shortcut to perform actions outside its permission scope, thereby posing a security risk.

Code Snippet

The following sample code snippet demonstrates how a malicious shortcut might potentially exploit the CVE-2023-32442 vulnerability to bypass access controls:

// Create shortcut object
Shortcut maliciousShortcut = new Shortcut("/path/to/malicious-shortcut.metadata");

// Bypass access controls
maliciousShortcut.grantUnrestrictedAccess();

// Modify sensitive app setting
ShortcutsApp.modifySetting("sensitiveSetting", "maliciousValue");

This code snippet is a simplified example and serves primarily for illustration purposes. In a real-world scenario, the exploit code would be more complex and obfuscated to avoid detection.

Original References

Apple has published a security advisory detailing this issue, along with other security improvements in the macOS Ventura 13.5 and macOS Monterey 12.6.8 updates. To read the full advisory, please visit the following link:

- Apple Security Advisory - macOS Ventura 13.5 and macOS Monterey 12.6.8

Mitigation & Fixes

Apple has addressed this access issue in the macOS Ventura 13.5 and macOS Monterey 12.6.8 updates. By implementing improved access restrictions, these updates ensure that shortcuts are unable to modify sensitive settings outside their permission scope.

Users are strongly encouraged to update their macOS systems to the latest version, which includes the security enhancements mentioned above. To update your macOS device, follow these steps:

If updates are available, click "Update Now" to install the latest version.

If you're running an affected version of macOS and are unable to update to the latest version, you may want to disable running untrusted shortcuts or remove installed shortcuts that you don't recognize.

Conclusion

CVE-2023-32442 is a security vulnerability within the macOS Shortcuts app that allowed a malicious shortcut to bypass access restrictions, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive app settings and user data. Thankfully, this issue has been addressed in the macOS Ventura 13.5 and macOS Monterey 12.6.8 updates with improved access restrictions. We encourage all users to update their systems to the latest version in order to avoid potential exploitation of this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 07/27/2023 01:15:31 UTC
Last modified on: 08/01/2023 19:10:34 UTC