#VU9434 Privilege escalation in macOS - CVE-2017-13872
Published: November 28, 2017 / Updated: September 14, 2018
Vulnerability identifier: #VU9434
Vulnerability risk: Low
CVSSv4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Clear
CVE-ID: CVE-2017-13872
CWE-ID: CWE-264
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
Public exploit is available
Vulnerable software:
macOS
macOS
Software vendor:
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc.
Description
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.
The weakness exists due to insufficient security restrictions. A local attacker can supply an empty password for the 'root' user account via the System Preferences > Users & Groups menu and gain elevated privileges to the root account.
The weakness exists due to insufficient security restrictions. A local attacker can supply an empty password for the 'root' user account via the System Preferences > Users & Groups menu and gain elevated privileges to the root account.
Remediation
Update to version 10.3.