IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-23512

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.3 / 13.2 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 handling of caches. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3, macOS Ventura 13.2, iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3. Visiting a website may lead to an app denial-of-service.

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

A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in Apple operating systems due to improper cache handling. When a user visits a maliciously crafted website, it triggers the vulnerability causing the associated app to become unresponsive or crash.

MitigationApply the available security updates: watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3, macOS Ventura 13.2, iOS 16.3, and iPadOS 16.3. This is a patching-only remediation; no code changes are required.

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:< 16.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPhone device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is less than 16.3
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPad device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is less than 16.3
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number under macOS
    Affected if Version is 13.0 through 13.1 (Ventura)
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About TV on the Apple TV device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is less than 16.3
  5. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About and note the version
    Affected if Version is less than 9.3

The device is affected if it runs any iOS/iPadOS, macOS Ventura, tvOS, or watchOS version below the fixed releases (16.3 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS, 13.2 for macOS, 9.3 for watchOS).

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 available security updates: watchOS 9.3, tvOS 16.3, macOS Ventura 13.2, iOS 16.3, and iPadOS 16.3. This is a patching-only remediation; no code changes are required.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, macOS Ventura 13.2, tvOS 16.3, or watchOS 9.3 (depending on device type)

  1. For iOS/iPadOS: Open Settings > General > Software Update, then download and install iOS 16.3 or iPadOS 16.3
  2. For macOS: Open System Settings (or System Preferences) > General > Software Update, then download and install macOS Ventura 13.2
  3. For tvOS: Open Settings > System > Software Updates, then select Update Software and install tvOS 16.3
  4. For watchOS: Open the Watch app on paired iPhone > My Watch tab > General > Software Update, then install watchOS 9.3
  5. After updating, restart the device to ensure the security fix is fully applied
Caveat Minor point releases typically have minimal compatibility impact; ensure critical apps are compatible with the listed versions before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-23512 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