dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-32433

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.6 / 11.7.9 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 macOS Monterey 12.6.8, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

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 the kernel allows a malicious local application to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges. This represents a local privilege escalation vulnerability that could be exploited to gain complete system control.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates for all affected Apple operating systems (macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Big Sur 11.7.9, Ventura 13.5; iOS/iPadOS 15.7.8, 16.6; tvOS 16.6; watchOS 9.6) to eliminate the 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:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7.9>= 12.0.0, < 12.6.8>= 13.0, < 13.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.6
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.6

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify the Apple operating system product
    Determine whether the system is running macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On macOS, run 'sw_vers' or 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType'. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On tvOS/watchOS, check via Settings app.
    Affected if The product is any of: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS
  2. Determine the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Preferences > About This Mac.
    Affected if The version is macOS 11.0 to 11.7.8, 12.0.0 to 12.6.7, or 13.0 to 13.4
  3. Determine the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number.
    Affected if The version is iOS/iPadOS 15.7.7 or earlier, or 16.0 to 16.5
  4. Determine the installed tvOS version
    Check Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV.
    Affected if The version is tvOS earlier than 16.6
  5. Determine the installed watchOS version
    Check the Watch app on paired iPhone: My Watch > General > About.
    Affected if The version is watchOS earlier than 9.6
  6. Confirm the kernel is running a vulnerable version
    The vulnerability exists in the kernel for the affected versions listed. There is no specific kernel config or module to check; the vulnerability is version-dependent.
    Affected if The installed OS version falls within any of the affected ranges for the respective Apple platform.

A user is affected if their Apple device runs macOS 11.0-11.7.8, 12.0.0-12.6.7, or 13.0-13.4; iOS/iPadOS 15.7.7 or earlier, or 16.0-16.5; tvOS before 16.6; or watchOS before 9.6.

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 9.6 / 11.7.9 / 12.6.8 or later
Fixed in 9.611.7.912.6.8
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates for all affected Apple operating systems (macOS Monterey 12.6.8, Big Sur 11.7.9, Ventura 13.5; iOS/iPadOS 15.7.8, 16.6; tvOS 16.6; watchOS 9.6) to eliminate the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.8 or iOS 16.6+; iPadOS 15.7.8 or iPadOS 16.6+; macOS 11.7.9 or 12.6.8 or 13.5+; tvOS 16.6+; watchOS 9.6+

  1. Identify the current device and iOS/iPadOS/macOS/tvOS/watchOS version via Settings > General > About
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.7.8 (if on 15.x) or iOS 16.6/iPadOS 16.6 (if on 16.x)
  3. For Mac: Open System Settings > Software Update and install the appropriate security update: macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, or macOS Ventura 13.5
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and update to tvOS 16.6
  5. For Apple Watch: On the iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 9.6
  6. Restart the device after the update completes to ensure all kernel-level patches are applied
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply - ensure backups exist before updating, as major version jumps (e.g., 12.x to 13.x) may have compatibility impacts with older applications

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-32433 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