CVE-2017-13872
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2017-13872 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | apple |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2017-11-29 17:29:00 UTC |
| Updated | 2025-04-20 01:37:25 UTC |
| Description | 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. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.0 8.1 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.766640000 probability, percentile 0.989700000 (date 2026-05-14)
Problem Types: CWE-287 | improper access control
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | [email protected] | Primary | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 2.0 | [email protected] | Primary | 9.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
CVSS v3.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0 Breakdown
Access Vector
NetworkAccess Complexity
MediumAuthentication
NoneConfidentiality
CompleteIntegrity
CompleteAvailability
CompleteAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Na | MacOS High Sierra | affected macOS High Sierra | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple's MacOS High Sierra Update Reintroduces "Root" Bug For Some Users | WIRED | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.wired.com | Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory |
| Apple macOS CVE-2017-13872 Authentication Bypass Vulnerability | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.securityfocus.com | Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry |
| Apple macOS 10.13.1 (High Sierra) - 'Blank Root' Local Privilege Escalation - macOS local Exploit | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.exploit-db.com | |
| Apple macOS/OS X Root Account Password Flaw in Directory Utility Lets Local Users Obtain Root Privileges - SecurityTracker | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.securitytracker.com | Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry |
| Apple macOS 10.13.1 (High Sierra) - 'Blank Root' Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.exploit-db.com | Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry |
| About the security content of macOS High Sierra 10.13.2, Security Update 2017-002 Sierra, and Security Update 2017-005 El Capitan - Apple Support | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | support.apple.com | |
| Objective-See | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | objective-see.com | Exploit, Technical Description, Third Party Advisory |
| About the security content of Security Update 2017-001 - Apple Support | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | support.apple.com | Vendor Advisory |
| Implement ARD auth and add remote CVE-2017-13872 (iamroot) module by jgor · Pull Request #9302 · rapid7/metasploit-framework · GitHub | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | github.com | |
| macOS bug lets you log in as admin with no password required | Ars Technica | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | arstechnica.com | Mitigation, Third Party Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.