dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-23496

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.3 / 13.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.2, watchOS 9.3, iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2, Safari 16.3, tvOS 16.3, iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a WebKit vulnerability affecting Safari and Apple OS components (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS). Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution, likely due to missing validation/authorization checks in WebKit's content processing logic.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: macOS Ventura 13.2, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.2 or 16.3, watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3, and Safari 16.3.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 16.3
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 16.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, go to Safari > About Safari, or run 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is lower than 16.3 and Safari processes web content
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad, or run 'idevicesyslog' or check via Finder/iTunes when device is connected
    Affected if Version is lower than 16.3 (or 15.7.2 as an interim fix) and device processes web content
  3. Check macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is lower than 13.2 and WebKit-based applications process web content
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV, or run 'idevicediagnostics' or check via Xcode when device is connected
    Affected if Version is lower than 16.3 and tvOS processes web content
  5. Check watchOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple Watch via the Watch app on iPhone, or check via Xcode when device is connected
    Affected if Version is lower than 9.3 and watchOS processes web content

Your environment is affected if any Apple product (Safari, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS) runs a version below the fixed release (16.3 for Safari/iOS/iPadOS/tvOS, 13.2 for macOS, 9.3 for watchOS) and processes untrusted web content.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 9.3 / 13.2 / 16.3 or later
Fixed in 9.313.216.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: macOS Ventura 13.2, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.2 or 16.3, watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3, and Safari 16.3.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.2 | watchOS 9.3 | iOS 16.3/iPadOS 16.3 (or iOS 15.7.2/iPadOS 15.7.2) | tvOS 16.3 | Safari 16.3

  1. For macOS: Upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.2 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For watchOS: Upgrade to watchOS 9.3 or later via the Watch app on iPhone
  3. For iOS/iPadOS: Upgrade to iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3 (or iOS 15.7.2/iPadOS 15.7.2 for older devices) via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For tvOS: Upgrade to tvOS 16.3 or later via Settings > System > Software Updates
  5. For Safari: Safari 16.3 is included with macOS Ventura 13.2; on older macOS, upgrade macOS to receive the Safari update

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-23496 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data