# CVE-2023-41036: Macvim's Insecure Usage of IPC Mechanisms

> An insecure IPC mechanism in MacVim allows local attackers to escalate privileges to root by exploiting distributed object interfaces.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 27 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9jgj-jfwg-99fv

## What is CVE-2023-41036?

CVE-2023-41036 is a high-severity vulnerability in macvim-dev macvim, published on 12 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Macvim is a text editor for MacOS. Prior to version 178, Macvim makes use of an insecure interprocess communication (IPC) mechanism which could lead to a privilege escalation. Distributed objects are a concept introduced by Apple which allow one program to vend an interface to another program. What is not made clear in the documentation is that this service can vend this interface to any other program on the machine. The impact of exploitation is a privilege escalation to root - this is likely to affect anyone who is not careful about the software they download and use MacVim to edit files that would require root privileges. Version 178 contains a fix for this issue.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-41036?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Macvim Macvim.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-41036?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-41036 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-41036 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-41036 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-41036 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-41036 is a high-severity vulnerability in macvim-dev macvim, published on 12 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-41036 exists.

Affected product: macvim-dev macvim. 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-2023-41036/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41036/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41036
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41036
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-41036

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41036/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.