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CVE-2023-40440

Status: ModifiedHigh (7.5)—

This issue was addressed with improved state management of S/MIME encrypted emails. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8. A S/MIME encrypted email may be inadvertently sent unencrypted.

CVSS

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

Affected technologies (1)

Apple — Macos

CWEs

References

Raw JSON (NVD)

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{
  "id": "CVE-2023-40440",
  "cveTags": [],
  "metrics": {
    "ssvcV203": [
      {
        "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
        "ssvcData": {
          "id": "CVE-2023-40440",
          "role": "CISA Coordinator",
          "options": [
            {
              "exploitation": "none"
            },
            {
              "automatable": "yes"
            },
            {
              "technicalImpact": "partial"
            }
          ],
          "version": "2.0.3",
          "timestamp": "2025-06-25T13:42:39.951803Z"
        }
      }
    ],
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "type": "Primary",
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "cvssData": {
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "version": "3.1",
          "baseScore": 7.5,
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9
      },
      {
        "type": "Secondary",
        "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
        "cvssData": {
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "version": "3.1",
          "baseScore": 7.5,
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9
      }
    ]
  },
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "product-security@apple.com",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "Apple",
          "product": "macOS",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "unspecified",
              "lessThan": "12.6",
              "versionType": "custom"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published": "2023-09-12T00:15:09.133",
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://blog.aegrel.ee/apple-mail-smime.html",
      "source": "product-security@apple.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213844",
      "tags": [
        "Release Notes",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "source": "product-security@apple.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://blog.aegrel.ee/apple-mail-smime.html",
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213844",
      "tags": [
        "Release Notes",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    }
  ],
  "vulnStatus": "Modified",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "type": "Primary",
      "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "NVD-CWE-noinfo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "This issue was addressed with improved state management of S/MIME encrypted emails. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8. A S/MIME encrypted email may be inadvertently sent unencrypted."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "Este problema se solucionó mejorando la gestión del estado de los correos electrónicos cifrados S/MIME. Este problema se solucionó en macOS Monterey 12.6.8. Un correo electrónico cifrado S/MIME puede enviarse sin cifrar sin darse cuenta."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-06-17T06:17:50.757",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "negate": false,
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "vulnerable": true,
              "matchCriteriaId": "A47C992E-C336-403A-A534-E1A33C7338DE",
              "versionEndExcluding": "12.6.8",
              "versionStartIncluding": "12.0.0"
            }
          ],
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "product-security@apple.com"
}