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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 14 Jul 2023.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-32434

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.8.1 / 9.5.2 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS 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 integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5.2, macOS Big Sur 11.7.8, iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS 15.7.7, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, watchOS 8.8.1, iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1. 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 against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.

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

Integer overflow vulnerability in Apple kernel allows a malicious app to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges. The flaw was addressed through improved input validation. This was actively exploited in the wild targeting iOS versions prior to iOS 15.7.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security updates (iOS 15.7.7+, iOS 16.5.1+, macOS security updates corresponding to the listed versions) 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:< 15.7.7>= 16.0, < 16.5.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.7>= 16.0, < 16.5.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7.8>= 12.0.0, < 12.6.7>= 13.0, < 13.4.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.8.1>= 9.0, < 9.5.2

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 product type
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On macOS, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. On watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch running one of the affected Apple operating systems.
  2. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number (for example, 16.3.1).
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.7, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.5.1.
  3. Check the installed macOS version
    On Mac, click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (for example, 13.3).
    Affected if The version is 11.0 or higher but less than 11.7.8; or 12.0.0 or higher but less than 12.6.7; or 13.0 or higher but less than 13.4.1.
  4. Check the installed watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About and note the watchOS version, or check in the Watch app on iPhone under My Watch > General > About.
    Affected if The version is less than 8.8.1, or greater than or equal to 9.0 but less than 9.5.2.

The device is affected if it runs any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS version within the ranges listed: iOS/iPadOS < 15.7.7 or 16.0-16.5.1; macOS 11.0-11.7.7, 12.0.0-12.6.6, or 13.0-13.4.0; watchOS < 8.8.1 or 9.0-9.5.1.

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 8.8.1 / 9.5.2 / 11.7.8 or later
Fixed in 8.8.19.5.211.7.8
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security updates (iOS 15.7.7+, iOS 16.5.1+, macOS security updates corresponding to the listed versions) to all affected devices to remediate the kernel privilege escalation vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to iOS 15.7.7 / iPadOS 15.7.7 / iOS 16.5.1+ / iPadOS 16.5.1+ (iOS/iPadOS); macOS Big Sur 11.7.8 / Monterey 12.6.7 / Ventura 13.4.1+ (macOS); watchOS 8.8.1 / 9.5.2+ (watchOS)

  1. For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest available update (iOS 15.7.7 or iOS 16.5.1+, iPadOS 15.7.7 or iPadOS 16.5.1+)
  2. For macOS: Go to System Preferences (Big Sur) or System Settings (Monterey/Ventura) > Software Update and install the latest update (11.7.8, 12.6.7, or 13.4.1+)
  3. For watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app > My Watch > General > Software Update and install the latest update (8.8.1 or 9.5.2+)
  4. Alternatively, connect device to power and WiFi, then go to Settings > General > Software Update and enable 'Automatic Updates'
Caveat Standard risk: always backup data before major OS updates; some legacy apps may be incompatible with older OS versions

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

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-2023-32434 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