CVE-2023-42939

Vulnerability

A logic issue in the handling of private browsing data allowed the user's private browsing activity to be unexpectedly saved in the App Privacy Report. This affects iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 17.1 on iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2nd generation and later, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 6th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later [1].

Exploitation

An attacker would need to have an app with root privileges installed on the device. The private browsing activity is saved in the App Privacy Report, which can then be accessed by such an app. No additional user interaction beyond normal browsing is required for the data to be saved [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation allows an app with root privileges to access the user's private browsing history, leading to disclosure of sensitive browsing activity. The attacker gains access to information that should remain private, compromising user confidentiality [1].

Mitigation

Apple addressed the issue in iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1, released on October 25, 2023. Users should update their devices to the latest version. No workarounds are available for unpatched versions [1].