# CVE-2018-4433: Privilege escalation in iOS

> A malicious application can modify protected file system parts, requiring OS updates to prevent unauthorized data modification and privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vwv4-wj3m-3cqg

## What is CVE-2018-4433?

CVE-2018-4433 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Iphone Os, published on 27 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A configuration issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Mojave 10.14.4, Security Update 2019-002 High Sierra, Security Update 2019-002 Sierra, watchOS 5, iOS 12, tvOS 12, macOS Mojave 10.14. A malicious application may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-4433?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Apple Iphone Os, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Tvos, Apple Watchos.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-4433?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-4433 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-4433 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4433 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Iphone Os

- [CVE-2021-30666](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30666/): Apple iOS WebKit Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30761](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30761/): Apple iOS WebKit Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-30762](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-30762/): Apple iOS WebKit Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-4657](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4657/): Apple iOS Webkit Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-7286](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7286/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-4433 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-4433 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Iphone Os, published on 27 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4433 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Iphone Os. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4433/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4433/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4433
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4433
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-4433

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4433/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.