dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-28187

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3. A user may be able to cause 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 · moderate confidence

A denial-of-service vulnerability in macOS related to improper state management. A local or possibly remote user could exploit this to cause the system to become unresponsive or crash. The issue was addressed through improved state management logic.

MitigationApply macOS Ventura 13.3 or later via standard Apple software update mechanism.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Determine installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version displayed is 13.0, 13.1, or 13.2.x (any version from 13.0 through 13.2.x)
  2. Confirm macOS release name
    Run: sw_vers -productVersionExtra or check System Settings > About for the macOS name
    Affected if The system reports Ventura version 13.0-13.2.x (any Ventura release before 13.3)
  3. Verify the exact minor version
    Run: sw_vers -productVersion to get the full version string (e.g., 13.2.1)
    Affected if The version is 13.0 <= version < 13.3 (any Ventura version before the 13.3 security update)

The system is affected if it is running any macOS Ventura version from 13.0 through 13.2.x; versions 13.3 and later are not vulnerable.

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 13.3 or later
Fixed in 13.3
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS Ventura 13.3 or later via standard Apple software update mechanism.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.3

  1. Back up your Mac before proceeding with the update
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  3. Navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Allow macOS to check for available updates
  5. If macOS Ventura 13.3 is available, click Download and Install
  6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  7. Restart your Mac when prompted to apply the update

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

Fix this in macOS 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-28187 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