Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-42942

Apple Iphone Os ≤ 16.7.2

Published
21 February 2024
Modified
04 November 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0039 32th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-42942 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Apple Iphone Os. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 32th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in watchOS 10.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1, tvOS 17.1, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. A malicious app may be able…

more

to gain root privileges.

CWE(s)
CWE-59

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
attack.mitre.org →
T1547.009 Shortcut Modification Persistence
Adversaries may create or modify shortcuts that can execute a program during system boot or user login.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-41968Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44273Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-43448Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-43379Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28866Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44131Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44258Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-24104Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-43220Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-20694Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipad os
≤ 16.7.2
apple
ipados
17.0
apple
iphone os
17.0 · ≤ 16.7.2
apple
macos
14.0 · 13.0 — 13.6.1
apple
tvos
≤ 17.1
apple
watchos
≤ 10.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V15.4.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.

A.8.3 Information access restriction none match
mitigates

Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.

References