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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-23504

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.3 / 12.6.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.3, macOS Ventura 13.2, watchOS 9.3, iOS 15.7.3 and iPadOS 15.7.3, tvOS 16.3, iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

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 · high confidence

A memory handling vulnerability in the kernel allows a malicious local application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, achieving full system compromise through privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the available OS updates (macOS 12.6.3/13.2, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.3/16.3, watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3) to all affected devices to remediate the kernel memory corruption flaw.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.3>= 16.0, < 16.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.3>= 16.0, < 16.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.6.3>= 13.0, < 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.3, or is 16.0, 16.1, or 16.2 (falls within >= 16.0, < 16.3)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.3, or is 16.0, 16.1, or 16.2 (falls within >= 16.0, < 16.3)
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number under macOS (for example, 12.5 or 13.1)
    Affected if The version is 12.0.0 through 12.6.2 (>= 12.0.0, < 12.6.3) or 13.0 or 13.1 (>= 13.0, < 13.2)
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device
    Affected if The version is any version below 16.3
  5. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About and note the watchOS version
    Affected if The version is any version below 9.3

The device is affected if it runs any iOS/iPadOS version less than 15.7.3 or between 16.0 and 16.2, macOS 12.0.0-12.6.2 or 13.0-13.1, tvOS below 16.3, or watchOS below 9.3.

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 / 12.6.3 / 13.2 or later
Fixed in 9.312.6.313.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the available OS updates (macOS 12.6.3/13.2, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.3/16.3, watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3) to all affected devices to remediate the kernel memory corruption flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.3 / iPadOS 16.3 (or iOS 15.7.3 / iPadOS 15.7.3 for 15.x branch); macOS 12.6.3 (Monterey) or macOS 13.2 (Ventura); watchOS 9.3; tvOS 16.3

  1. For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.3 / iPadOS 16.3, or if staying on iOS 15.x branch, install iOS 15.7.3 / iPadOS 15.7.3
  2. For macOS: Open System Preferences > Software Update (or System Settings > General > Software Update on Ventura) and install macOS 12.6.3 (Monterey) or macOS 13.2 (Ventura)
  3. For watchOS: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > Software Update, and install watchOS 9.3
  4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 16.3
  5. After updating, verify the OS version in Settings > General > About to confirm the correct version is installed
Caveat Major OS updates may introduce UI changes or deprecate older applications; review app compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2023-23504 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