Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-35983 is a macOS data protection issue where an app may modify protected parts of the file system. Apple says the issue was fixed through improved data protection in Big Sur 11.7.9, Monterey 12.6.8, and Ventura 13.5.
Executive priority
Treat this as a normal-priority macOS fleet patching item unless exposed systems run sensitive workloads or permit broad app installation. There is no cited active exploitation, but protected file-system modification is a meaningful integrity risk.
Technical view
The CVE maps to CWE-863, Incorrect Authorization. Apple’s advisory states that an app may be able to modify protected file-system areas. The public bundle does not provide CVSS, affected build ranges, root-cause detail, or exploit primitives beyond Apple’s summary.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on managed or unmanaged Macs running affected pre-fix macOS Big Sur, Monterey, or Ventura releases. The bundle lists affected macOS versions only as unspecified, so exact vulnerable build boundaries are not available here.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation. Apple’s wording indicates a local app context, but the bundle does not describe required privileges, user interaction, or exploit reliability.
Researcher notes
Public detail is sparse. Useful validation should focus on OS version state, Apple advisory tracking, and endpoint telemetry for suspicious protected-path modification attempts. Do not assume a remote attack path from the provided evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Update macOS Ventura systems to 13.5 or later.
- Update macOS Monterey systems to 12.6.8 or later.
- Update macOS Big Sur systems to 11.7.9 or later.
- Check Apple guidance for any environment-specific deployment notes.
- Prioritize endpoints allowed to run third-party or unmanaged apps.
Validation and detection
- Inventory macOS versions across managed and unmanaged endpoints.
- Confirm Big Sur hosts are at least 11.7.9.
- Confirm Monterey hosts are at least 12.6.8.
- Confirm Ventura hosts are at least 13.5.
- Review MDM compliance reports for update failures or deferred updates.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-863: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-35983 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213843CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213845CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213844CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Authorization
Incorrect Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.