dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-27936

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7.5 / 12.6.4 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
An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3, iOS 15.7.4 and iPadOS 15.7.4, macOS Monterey 12.6.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.5. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple's kernel stemming from insufficient input validation. A malicious application can write beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially corrupting kernel memory and causing system termination or arbitrary kernel memory writes.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security updates: macOS Ventura 13.3+, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.4+, macOS Monterey 12.6.4+, or macOS Big Sur 11.7.5+ to resolve the input validation 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:< 15.7.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.4
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.7.5>= 12.0, < 12.6.4>= 13.0, < 13.3

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
    Open Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version', or connect to computer and check in Finder/iTunes
    Affected if Version is 15.7.3 or earlier (any version below 15.7.4)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version', or connect to computer and check in Finder/iTunes
    Affected if Version is 15.7.3 or earlier (any version below 15.7.4)
  3. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is 11.7.4 or earlier, OR 12.0 through 12.6.3 inclusive, OR 13.0 through 13.2.x inclusive
  4. Verify kernel component presence
    This vulnerability is in the XNU kernel. On macOS, run 'uname -v' to confirm the kernel version, though version alone does not confirm vulnerability - OS version check in step 3 is definitive
    Affected if OS version falls into the affected ranges regardless of kernel component inspection

The device is affected if it runs any iOS/iPadOS version below 15.7.4, or macOS versions 11.7.4 or earlier, 12.0-12.6.3, or 13.0-13.2.x.

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 11.7.5 / 12.6.4 / 13.3 or later
Fixed in 11.7.512.6.413.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security updates: macOS Ventura 13.3+, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.4+, macOS Monterey 12.6.4+, or macOS Big Sur 11.7.5+ to resolve the input validation flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS/iPadOS 15.7.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.5, macOS Monterey 12.6.4, or macOS Ventura 13.3 depending on your current OS

  1. Back up your device data before performing any system update
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 15.7.4
  3. For macOS Big Sur (11.x): Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.7.5
  4. For macOS Monterey (12.x): Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.6.4
  5. For macOS Ventura (13.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.3
  6. Restart the device after the update completes

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-2023-27936 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