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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-32412

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.5 / 11.7.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, iOS 15.7.6 and iPadOS 15.7.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.7, macOS Monterey 12.6.6, iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5. A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Apple's operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) that allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause unexpected app termination due to improper memory management.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches by updating all affected devices to the fixed versions: iOS 15.7.6/16.5+, iPadOS 15.7.6/16.5+, macOS Big Sur 11.7.7+, macOS Monterey 12.6.6+, macOS Ventura 13.4+, watchOS 9.5+, tvOS 16.5+.

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:< 15.7.6>= 16.0, < 16.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.6>= 16.0, < 16.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7.7>= 12.0, < 12.6.6>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 iPhone iOS version
    On iPhone, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the build number and version (e.g., 16.4).
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.6, OR between 16.0 and 16.4 (inclusive)
  2. Check iPad iPadOS version
    On iPad, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the build number and version.
    Affected if Version is less than 15.7.6, OR between 16.0 and 16.4 (inclusive)
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, go to System Settings > General > About (or Apple menu > About This Mac). Note the version number (e.g., 13.3).
    Affected if Version is 11.0 to 11.7.6, OR 12.0 to 12.6.5, OR 13.0 to 13.3
  4. Check watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About. The version is shown on the paired iPhone in the Watch app under My Watch > General > About.
    Affected if Version is less than 9.5
  5. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version.
    Affected if Version is less than 16.5

A device is affected if its OS version falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges for that product type.

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 / 11.7.7 / 12.6.6 or later
Fixed in 9.511.7.712.6.6
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided patches by updating all affected devices to the fixed versions: iOS 15.7.6/16.5+, iPadOS 15.7.6/16.5+, macOS Big Sur 11.7.7+, macOS Monterey 12.6.6+, macOS Ventura 13.4+, watchOS 9.5+, tvOS 16.5+.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to iOS 15.7.6/16.5+, iPadOS 15.7.6/16.5+, macOS 11.7.7/12.6.6/13.4+, watchOS 9.5+, or tvOS 16.5+ depending on device

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.5 or iPadOS 16.5 (or iOS 15.7.6/iPadOS 15.7.6 if remaining on iOS 15)
  2. For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.4 (or macOS Monterey 12.6.6 / Big Sur 11.7.7 if staying on an earlier macOS major version)
  3. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update and install watchOS 9.5
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 16.5
  5. After updating, verify the installed version in Settings > General > About (or System Settings > About on macOS Ventura)
Caveat Standard Apple OS upgrades may have feature changes; staying on older major versions (e.g., iOS 15, macOS Monterey) is supported but ensure the specific security patch version is installed

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-32412 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