dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-38572

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.6 / 13.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, Safari 16.6, watchOS 9.6. A website may be able to bypass Same Origin Policy.

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

This vulnerability allows a malicious website to bypass the Same Origin Policy (SOP), a fundamental browser security mechanism that isolates web content from different origins. By bypassing SOP, an attacker could potentially read sensitive data, access authentication tokens, or perform actions on behalf of a user from a different origin, leading to cross-site information disclosure or session hijacking.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 15.7.8/16.6, iPadOS 15.7.8/16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, Safari 16.6, or watchOS 9.6 depending on the affected device.

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:< 16.6
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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, go to Safari menu > About Safari, note the version number
    Affected if Version is earlier than 16.6 (e.g., 16.5.x or below)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About, note the iOS version number
    Affected if iOS version is earlier than 15.7.8, OR between 16.0 and 16.5.x (inclusive)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About, note the iPadOS version number
    Affected if iPadOS version is earlier than 15.7.8, OR between 16.0 and 16.5.x (inclusive)
  4. Check macOS version on Mac
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac, note the macOS version (Ventura 13.x)
    Affected if macOS Ventura is earlier than 13.5 (e.g., 13.0 to 13.4)
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About TV, note the tvOS version number
    Affected if tvOS version is earlier than 16.6
  6. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, note the watchOS version
    Affected if watchOS version is earlier than 9.6

If any browser or operating system listed above is at a version lower than the patched versions (Safari 16.6, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.8 or 16.6, macOS 13.5, tvOS 16.6, watchOS 9.6), the Same Origin Policy bypass vulnerability is present.

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 / 13.5 / 15.7.8 or later
Fixed in 9.613.515.7.8
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 15.7.8/16.6, iPadOS 15.7.8/16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, Safari 16.6, or watchOS 9.6 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.8 / iOS 16.6 / iPadOS 15.7.8 / iPadOS 16.6 / tvOS 16.6 / macOS Ventura 13.5 / Safari 16.6 / watchOS 9.6

  1. Identify the current operating system version on the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
  2. For iOS/iPadOS devices: If running iOS/iPadOS 15.x, upgrade to version 15.7.8; if running iOS/iPadOS 16.x, upgrade to version 16.6
  3. For macOS devices: If running macOS Ventura 13.x, upgrade to version 13.5
  4. For tvOS devices: Upgrade to version 16.6
  5. For watchOS devices: Upgrade to version 9.6
  6. For Safari on older macOS: Upgrade Safari to version 16.6
  7. Back up the device before applying the update (recommended)
  8. Install the update via Settings > General > Software Update on iOS/iPadOS, or System Settings > Software Update on macOS, or via the Settings app on Apple TV/Watch
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply - review Apple's release notes for the specific version for any known issues; updates are generally low-risk security patches

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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-2023-38572 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