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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 7 Mar 2023.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-23529

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.2.1 / 15.7.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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
A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.7.4 and iPadOS 15.7.4, iOS 16.3.1 and iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, Safari 16.3. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

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 type confusion vulnerability in WebKit (the rendering engine used by Safari and iOS/macOS browsers) allows processing of maliciously crafted web content to lead to arbitrary code execution. Type confusion occurs when code incorrectly handles object type assumptions, enabling memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution. This was actively exploited as a zero-day vulnerability.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches immediately: update to iOS 15.7.4/16.3.1+, iPadOS 15.7.4/16.3.1+, macOS Ventura 13.2.1+, or Safari 16.3+ across all affected devices. Given active exploitation, prioritize patching internet-facing devices and user endpoints.

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:< 15.7.4>= 16.0, < 16.3.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.4>= 16.0, < 16.3.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.2.1

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
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, click Safari menu, select About Safari. The version number is displayed next to the Safari icon.
    Affected if Version is less than 16.3
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About. The version number is shown next to 'Software Version'.
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.4, or between 16.0 and 16.3.0 (inclusive)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About. The version number is shown next to 'Software Version'.
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.4, or between 16.0 and 16.3.0 (inclusive)
  4. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number is displayed below the macOS name.
    Affected if macOS Ventura version is between 13.0 and 13.2.0 (inclusive)

The device is affected if it runs Safari < 16.3, iOS/iPadOS < 15.7.4 or between 16.0-16.3.0, or macOS Ventura 13.0-13.2.0, and processes untrusted web content through Safari or any WebKit-based application.

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 13.2.1 / 15.7.4 / 16.3 or later
Fixed in 13.2.115.7.416.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches immediately: update to iOS 15.7.4/16.3.1+, iPadOS 15.7.4/16.3.1+, macOS Ventura 13.2.1+, or Safari 16.3+ across all affected devices. Given active exploitation, prioritize patching internet-facing devices and user endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.4 / iOS 16.3.1, iPadOS 15.7.4 / iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, Safari 16.3

  1. Identify the affected device type: iPhone, iPad, or Mac
  2. For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 15.7.4 (if on iOS 15.x) or iOS 16.3.1 (if on iOS 16.x)
  3. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iPadOS 15.7.4 (if on iPadOS 15.x) or iPadOS 16.3.1 (if on iPadOS 16.x)
  4. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.2.1
  5. For Safari on older macOS: Download and install Safari 16.3 from Apple Support Downloads
Caveat Standard Apple security update; may include minor UI or feature changes; backup recommended before updating

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

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-2023-23529 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