CVE-2017-13872 in the critical feed json
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products.
published 2017-11-29 8 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2017-5387
- cvss
- 8.1
- version 3.0, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 36.8%
- EPSS 36.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 98%
- public exploits
- 4
- Metasploit, Exploit-DB
Summary
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS High Sierra before Security Update 2017-001 is affected. The issue involves the "Directory Utility" component. It allows attackers to obtain administrator access without a password via certain interactions involving entry of the root user name.
Patch / fix
- github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework#9302 pull request
Timeline
- First public exploit (EDB-43248)
- Published
Exploit prediction
36.77% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 98% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Exploits and checks
- Metasploit exploit/osx/local/root_no_password Mac OS X Root Privilege Escalation metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2017-11-29
- Metasploit auxiliary/scanner/vnc/ard_root_pw Apple Remote Desktop Root Vulnerability metasploit auxiliary, normal rank
- EDB-43248 Apple macOS 10.13.1 (High Sierra) - 'Blank Root' Local Privilege Escalation local, 2017-11-28
- EDB-43201 Apple macOS 10.13.1 (High Sierra) - 'Blank Root' Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) local, 2017-11-30
- objective-see.com https://objective-see.com/blog/blog_0x24.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 3.0 | 8.1 | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVD | 2.0 | 9.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
Affected products
- n/a macOS High Sierra
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-287 Improper Authentication
References
- github.com /rapid7/metasploit-framework/pull/9302
-
exploit-db.com
/exploits/43201/
exploit, third-party-advisory, vdb-entry
-
exploit-db.com
/exploits/43248/
exploit
-
objective-see.com
/blog/blog_0x24.html
exploit, technical-description, third-party-advisory
-
support.apple.com
/HT208315
vendor-advisory
- support.apple.com /HT208331
-
arstechnica.com
/information-technology/2017/11/macos-bug-lets-you-log-in-as-admin-with-no-password-required/
mitigation, third-party-advisory
-
securitytracker.com
/id/1039875
vdb-entry, third-party-advisory
-
securityfocus.com
/bid/101981
vdb-entry, third-party-advisory
-
wired.com
/story/macos-update-undoes-apple-root-bug-patch/
press/media-coverage, third-party-advisory
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2017-13872
- NVD CVE-2017-13872
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.