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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 12 Jun 2023.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-28204

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.42.3 / 9.5 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
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, iOS 15.7.6 and iPadOS 15.7.6, Safari 16.5, iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5. Processing web content may disclose sensitive information. 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 · moderate confidence

CVE-2023-28204 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in WebKit (the browser engine used by Safari and UIKit-based apps) that allows processing of malicious web content to read memory beyond allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive information. This vulnerability was being actively exploited in the wild as a zero-day before Apple released the corresponding patches.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 16.5/iPadOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, Safari 16.5) to all affected devices. Prioritize externally-facing devices and those handling sensitive data given the confirmed active exploitation.

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:< 16.5
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.6>= 16.0, < 16.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.6>= 16.0, < 16.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.4
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.5
Webkitgtk\+Web browser
Affected:< 2.42.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, click Safari in the menu bar, then select About Safari to view the version number
    Affected if Version is below 16.5
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings app, go to General > About to view the iOS version
    Affected if Version is below 15.7.6, or between 16.0 and 16.4 (any version < 16.5 but >= 16.0)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings app, go to General > About to view the iPadOS version
    Affected if Version is below 15.7.6, or between 16.0 and 16.4 (any version < 16.5 but >= 16.0)
  4. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version
    Affected if Version is 13.0, 13.1, 13.2, or 13.3 (any version >= 13.0 but < 13.4)
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version to view the tvOS version
    Affected if Version is below 16.5
  6. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About to view watchOS version
    Affected if Version is below 9.5

User is affected if any Apple device or Safari browser has a version that falls within the affected ranges (Safari < 16.5, iOS/iPadOS < 15.7.6 or >= 16.0 but < 16.5, macOS >= 13.0 but < 13.4, tvOS < 16.5, watchOS < 9.5).

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 2.42.3 / 9.5 / 13.4 or later
Fixed in 2.42.39.513.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates (iOS 16.5/iPadOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, Safari 16.5) to all affected devices. Prioritize externally-facing devices and those handling sensitive data given the confirmed active exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 16.5; iOS 15.7.6, 16.5; iPadOS 15.7.6, 16.5; macOS 13.4 (Ventura); tvOS 16.5; watchOS 9.5; WebKitGTK+ 2.42.3

  1. Check current version: On iOS/iPadOS go to Settings > General > About; on macOS go to Apple menu > About This Mac; on Safari go to Safari > About Safari
  2. Backup important data before updating (optional but recommended)
  3. Update iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update
  4. Update macOS: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update (or System Preferences > Software Update on older macOS)
  5. Update Safari: Safari updates are included with macOS updates; update macOS to 13.4 or later
  6. Update tvOS: Go to Settings > General > About > Software Update
  7. Update watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app > My Watch > General > Software Update
  8. For WebKitGTK+ users: Update the package via system package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade webkit2gtk)
Caveat Standard Apple update risks: ensure compatibility with third-party apps before updating; some older devices may not support the newer OS versions

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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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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-2023-28204 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