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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.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-28206

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7.6 / 12.6.5 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 write issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.5, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1, macOS Ventura 13.3.1, iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.7.6. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. 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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the macOS/iOS kernel allows a malicious application to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code with kernel-level access. The issue was addressed through improved input validation in the patched OS versions.

MitigationApply the appropriate OS update (macOS Monterey 12.6.5+, iOS 16.4.1+/15.7.5+, macOS Ventura 13.3.1+, macOS Big Sur 11.7.6+) to all affected devices to remediate the kernel privilege escalation vulnerability.

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:< 15.7.5>= 16.0, < 16.4.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.5>= 16.0, < 16.4.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.7.6>= 12.0, < 12.6.5>= 13.0, < 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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 iOS version
    On the iOS device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.5, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.4.1
  2. Check iPadOS version
    On the iPadOS device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.5, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.4.1
  3. Check macOS version via System Settings
    Click the Apple menu > System Settings > About (or System Preferences > About on older macOS). Note the version number under 'macOS'
    Affected if The version is less than 11.7.6; or 12.0 to 12.6.4; or 13.0 to 13.3.0
  4. Check macOS version via command line
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers' to display the macOS version, or 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' for detailed OS information
    Affected if The version displayed matches any of the affected macOS ranges: < 11.7.6, >= 12.0 < 12.6.5, or >= 13.0 < 13.3.1

A device is affected if it runs iOS, iPadOS, or macOS versions that fall within the vulnerable ranges, making it susceptible to kernel-level code execution after a malicious app escapes sandbox restrictions.

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 11.7.6 / 12.6.5 / 13.3.1 or later
Fixed in 11.7.612.6.513.3.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate OS update (macOS Monterey 12.6.5+, iOS 16.4.1+/15.7.5+, macOS Ventura 13.3.1+, macOS Big Sur 11.7.6+) to all affected devices to remediate the kernel privilege escalation vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.5/iPadOS 15.7.5 or iOS 16.4.1/iPadOS 16.4.1 for Apple mobile devices; macOS Big Sur 11.7.6, macOS Monterey 12.6.5, or macOS Ventura 13.3.1 for Macs

  1. Identify the currently installed iOS/iPadOS/macOS version on the device
  2. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.7.5 (for devices on 15.x) or iOS 16.4.1 (for devices on 16.x)
  3. For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install the appropriate security update: macOS Big Sur 11.7.6, macOS Monterey 12.6.5, or macOS Ventura 13.3.1
  4. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking the OS version in Settings/About
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply - review backup 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 Ipados 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
Get it fixed fast

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-2023-28206 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