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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 1 May 2023.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-28205

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.3.1 / 15.7.5 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
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.4.1, iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1, macOS Ventura 13.3.1. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. 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 · high confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit allows arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, leading to potential code execution. This affects Safari, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Ventura through their use of the WebKit rendering engine.

MitigationApply the available security updates from Apple: Safari 16.4.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, or macOS Ventura 13.3.1. Prioritize patching given active exploitation in the wild.

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:< 16.4.1
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.5>= 16.0, < 16.4.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.5>= 16.0, < 16.4.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.3.1

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, click Safari menu > About Safari, or run: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if Version is less than 16.4.1
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About, or connect device and run: ideviceinfo -k ProductVersion
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.5, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.4.1
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About, or connect device and run: ideviceinfo -k ProductVersion
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.5, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.4.1
  4. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if Version is less than 13.3.1
  5. Check for WebKit-based third-party browsers
    Review installed browsers. On iOS, all browsers use WebKit engine. On macOS, check browsers like Chrome, Edge, or Brave if they use WebKit (not Chromium)
    Affected if Any WebKit-based browser is running on an unpatched iOS/macOS version

You are affected if Safari is below 16.4.1, iOS/iPadOS is below 15.7.5 or between 16.0-16.4.1, or macOS is below 13.3.1, or any WebKit-based browser is used on these vulnerable OS versions.

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 13.3.1 / 15.7.5 / 16.4.1 or later
Fixed in 13.3.115.7.516.4.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates from Apple: Safari 16.4.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.5 and 16.4.1, or macOS Ventura 13.3.1. Prioritize patching given active exploitation in the wild.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 16.4.1, iOS 15.7.5/16.4.1, iPadOS 15.7.5/16.4.1, or macOS Ventura 13.3.1

  1. For iOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 15.7.5 or iOS 16.4.1 (depending on your target version line)
  2. For iPadOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iPadOS 15.7.5 or iPadOS 16.4.1
  3. For macOS Ventura: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.3.1
  4. For Safari: The Safari update is included in the macOS 13.3.1 update; on older macOS versions, upgrade Safari to 16.4.1 via the macOS update
Caveat Standard Apple software updates typically do not introduce breaking changes; test in your environment as with any system update

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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-2023-28205 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