dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-28202

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.5 / 13.4 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4. An app firewall setting may not take effect after exiting the Settings app.

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 state management issue in iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, and macOS Ventura 13.4 causes firewall settings configured in the Settings app to not take effect after exiting the Settings app. The UI accepts the configuration but the firewall rule is not actually applied to the system, leaving users unprotected despite believing they have enabled firewall protection.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iOS 16.5/iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, or macOS Ventura 13.4 or later to receive the Apple fix for the state management issue.

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:< 16.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.4
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.5

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 the installed iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number (e.g., 16.4.1). For macOS, run `sw_vers` in Terminal and note the ProductVersion.
    Affected if The version is less than 16.5 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS, less than 9.5 for watchOS, or between 13.0 and 13.3 for macOS Ventura.
  2. Verify if firewall is enabled in Settings
    On macOS, go to System Settings > Network > Firewall and check if it shows as enabled. On iOS/iPadOS, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode (firewall options may be limited).
    Affected if The UI shows firewall as enabled or configured.
  3. Confirm firewall is actually active at the system level (macOS)
    Run `pfctl -s all 2>/dev/null` or `defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf globalstate` in Terminal. A value of 0 means off, 1 means on for specific services, 2 means on for all.
    Affected if The command shows firewall as disabled (0) or not loaded, despite the Settings UI indicating it is enabled.
  4. Check for any active packet filtering rules
    Run `sudo pfctl -s rules 2>/dev/null` and look for any active filter rules. Also check `sudo ipfw list 2>/dev/null` for older ipfw rules.
    Affected if No active rules are found, even after enabling firewall in Settings and restarting the device.

If the OS version is in the affected range and the firewall shows as enabled in Settings but the system-level firewall status (pfctl or com.apple.alf globalstate) reports it as disabled or inactive, the environment is affected by this CVE.

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 9.5 / 13.4 / 16.5 or later
Fixed in 9.513.416.5
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iOS 16.5/iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, or macOS Ventura 13.4 or later to receive the Apple fix for the state management issue.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4

  1. Upgrade iOS devices to version 16.5 or later
  2. Upgrade iPadOS devices to version 16.5 or later
  3. Upgrade watchOS devices to version 9.5 or later
  4. Upgrade tvOS devices to version 16.5 or later
  5. Upgrade macOS Ventura to version 13.4 or later
  6. After upgrading, verify that app firewall settings take effect correctly after exiting the Settings app
Caveat Standard OS upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for compatibility issues with existing apps

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28202 — 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-2023-28202 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