dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-23524

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.3.1 / 13.2.1 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
A denial-of-service issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.3.2, iOS 16.3.1 and iPadOS 16.3.1, watchOS 9.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1. Processing a maliciously crafted certificate may lead to a 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 · high confidence

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS) caused by insufficient input validation when processing X.509 certificates. An attacker can trigger a DoS condition by presenting a specially crafted malicious certificate to a vulnerable device, causing the certificate parsing logic to fail or enter an infinite loop.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: update to iOS/iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, tvOS 16.3.2, or watchOS 9.3.1 or later. For enterprise environments, deploy updates via MDM and verify compliance.

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:< 16.3.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.3.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.2.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.3.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.3.1

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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. Identify the Apple device and operating system type
    Determine whether the device runs iOS/iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. For macOS, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. For iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. For tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any Apple operating system listed in the affected versions.
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number (for example, 16.3, 16.2, etc.). Compare it to the fixed version 16.3.1.
    Affected if The installed iOS or iPadOS version is below 16.3.1.
  3. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -ProductVersion' in Terminal or click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Compare the version number (for example, 13.2, 13.1) to the fixed version 13.2.1.
    Affected if The installed macOS version is below 13.2.1.
  4. Check tvOS version
    Open Settings > General > About on the Apple TV device. Note the version number and compare it to the fixed version 16.3.2.
    Affected if The installed tvOS version is below 16.3.2.
  5. Check watchOS version
    Open Settings > General > About on the Apple Watch via the iPhone Watch app or directly on the watch. Compare the version to the fixed version 9.3.1.
    Affected if The installed watchOS version is below 9.3.1.

The environment is affected if any Apple device runs an OS version below the minimum fixed version (iOS/iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS 13.2.1, tvOS 16.3.2, or watchOS 9.3.1).

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 9.3.1 / 13.2.1 / 16.3.1 or later
Fixed in 9.3.113.2.116.3.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: update to iOS/iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, tvOS 16.3.2, or watchOS 9.3.1 or later. For enterprise environments, deploy updates via MDM and verify compliance.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.3.1, iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, tvOS 16.3.2, watchOS 9.3.1

  1. Open Settings on the device
  2. Tap General > Software Update
  3. Download and install the available update
  4. For iOS/iPadOS: Ensure update to iOS 16.3.1 or later / iPadOS 16.3.1 or later
  5. For macOS: Open System Settings > General > Software Update, install macOS Ventura 13.2.1 or later
  6. For tvOS: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates, install tvOS 16.3.2 or later
  7. For watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app > General > Software Update, install watchOS 9.3.1 or later
Caveat Standard Apple update - may require device restart; verify app compatibility after update

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-23524 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