What is CVE-2023-23538?

CVE-2023-23538 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Incorrect Authorization. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2023-05-08.

How severe is CVE-2023-23538?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.

Auth bypass in Apple macOS

CVE-2023-23538

A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3, macOS Monterey 12.6.4. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

Vulnerability class: Broken Access Control

Published 2023-05-08 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (11.5th percentile), scored 2026-10-01.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 11th percentile — 11.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple macOS — versions unspecified

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-863 — Incorrect Authorization

References

support.apple.com/en-us/HT213670 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213677 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-23538?: CVE-2023-23538 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Incorrect Authorization. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2023-05-08.
How severe is CVE-2023-23538?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.