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Major macOS High Sierra Bug Allows Full Admin Access Without Password - How to Fix [Updated]

Nope. After numerous attempts "root" won't give me access. I have the 10.13.1
Are there various builds this is affecting?
 
So I set the root password myself in the terminal by sudo passwd root and the bug doesn't work anymore. Methinks the original root password was hardcoded somewhere...
 
haruhiko said:
Now I wish my work computer is a Mac.

Windows’ user management is too sophisticated that I can’t elevate myself to admin :(
Click to expand...

Um. No. To this day you can still boot into safe mode, replace utilman.exe with any executable, CMD.exe being the obvious one, and reboot. Hit the accessibility button on the login screen at you're at a command prompt where you can do quite literally anything.
 
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Just the moment when you think that last failure (iOS11) was the worst and it should finally trigger changes to the better, new issue is coming which outweighs all prior failures.

Let's count how many balls Apple dropped recently:
Innovative design: dropped since MacBook, iPhone6
Rich functionality and features: dropped since MacBook and iPhone7
Top price for best product: dropped since MBP with touchbar and iPhone8,X
Quality software: dropped badly with iOS11
Secure software: dropped worst with High Sierra

I can think about only 1 apple Apple holds yet: customer service
 
Over the last five years I have spent a small fortune on Apple products (computers, monitors, laptops, pads, phones) for my business because I thought a closed ecosystem with a single vendor would run better. How has that worked out? Apple seems much more interested in changing how I do things (try to connect ANY device to a macbook pro without a suitcase of dongles) and in promoting really silly things (animoji, anyone?) than in making businesses run more smoothly. Apple has lost its way. This root debacle is symbolic of a MUCH bigger problem.
 
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Feenician said:
Um. No. To this day you can still boot into safe mode, replace utilman.exe with any executable, CMD.exe bring the obvious one, and reboot. Hit the accessibility button on the login screen at you're at a command prompt where you can do quite literally anything.
Click to expand...
:pThanks for the tips!
 
Seoras said:
A lot of bugs in MacOS & iOS just now. I found and reported one in iOS 11, that doesn't happen in iOS 10.
This usually indicates a lack of focus by Apple on these areas. That the platforms are in maintenance and being looked after by the B team.
Which raises an interesting question: What are the A Team at Apple focused on right now?
Click to expand...


Tim Cook's passion of emojis.
 
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Cant replicate the issue on my machine tried multiple times. People just love to make mountains out of molehills
 
Starship67 said:
Cant replicate the issue on my machine tried multiple times. People just love to make mountains out of molehills
Click to expand...

If you're attached to another directory it may not work. If you've enabled root and set a password it won't work. It only works if you're on the local directory and the root account isn't enabled.
 
Im on HS 10.13.2 (17C79A) and can confirm this does work. The initial dialog box accepted root and then I entered root again and suddenly the padlock unlocked in users and groups. How the hell was this missed, or was this deliberate?
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
Im on HS 10.13.2 (17C79A) and can confirm this does work. The initial dialog box accepted root and then I entered root again and suddenly the padlock unlocked in users and groups. How the hell was this missed, or was this deliberate?
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Deliberate? Really? Oh, please... :rolleyes:

Deliberate would be having something very well hidden that requires a fix set of almost otherwise random password. :mad:

Stop being so melodramatic; this was a screw up - a big one yes, but a screw up nonetheless. :eek:

Quit with the tin-foil conspiracies - triply so given that Apple have consistently shown themselves NOT to be the DHS, FBI or any other three letter acronym Governmental spying department 's best friend... :cool:
 
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ryanayr said:
This is worrying. Apple need to focus on Mac and stop rushing! What’s happening with Apple?
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They are too busy making commercials and dumping all of their resources into marketing.

Rather than putting their money into the products that made people like them.

The latest MBP and iPhone X are a joke. The company has done well up to this point, and yes they can lock down the old people to but their products but what is the next generation of users going to think?
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
How many people have their computer set up with guest accounts (especially with a non-trivial root password)?

Not saying this isn't bad, but isn't the default to not have guest accounts?
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you can even lock the screen, unlock it by login to "other users". Just type root and empty password when prompt in login screen.
 
Feenician said:
Perhaps you just didn't realize that there are exploits every year and you were never as safe as you imagined.
Click to expand...

I’m aware that was the reality; however, Macs were the minority and weren’t a high profile target for hackers. That’s changed.
 
Seems like the root user is being enabled pretty effortlessly with local access. I thought SIP was supposed to be a hard wall against the root user?
 
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