dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-28199

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.3 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 read issue existed that led to the disclosure of kernel memory. This was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3. An app may be able to disclose 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 · moderate confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the macOS kernel allowed a malicious application to read kernel memory beyond intended boundaries due to insufficient input validation. The flaw enabled kernel memory disclosure without requiring root privileges, as it could be triggered by any locally running app.

MitigationApply macOS Ventura 13.3 or later security updates to remediate the kernel input validation issue. Organizations should ensure prompt patch deployment across macOS 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
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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 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 in the 13.0 to 13.2 range)
  2. Confirm macOS release name
    Run: sw_vers -productVersionExtra
    Affected if The output indicates Ventura without the 13.3 update applied

If the system runs macOS Ventura version 13.0 through 13.2.x, the kernel is vulnerable to the out-of-bounds read; version 13.3 or later, or versions older than 13.0, are not affected.

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 security updates to remediate the kernel input validation issue. Organizations should ensure prompt patch deployment across macOS endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.3

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before applying any system updates
  2. Ensure your Mac meets the system requirements for macOS Ventura 13.3
  3. Update to macOS Ventura 13.3 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update, or download from the Mac App Store

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28199 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-28199 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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