CVE-2023-38596
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 · uneditedThe issue was addressed with improved handling of protocols. This issue is fixed in tvOS 17, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14. An app may fail to enforce App Transport Security.
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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability allows an app to fail enforcing App Transport Security (ATS), Apple's security feature that enforces HTTPS connections by default. The issue stems from improper protocol handling in the affected OS versions, potentially allowing sensitive communications to occur over insecure channels.
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< 17.0< 17.0< 14.0< 17.0< 10.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS or iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the device and note the Version numberAffected if The version is lower than 17.0 (for example, 16.x or earlier)
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Check macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number displayedAffected if The version is lower than 14.0 (for example, 13.x or earlier, also known as Ventura or older)
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Check tvOS versionGo to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV deviceAffected if The version is lower than 17.0
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Check watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About, and note the watchOS versionAffected if The version is lower than 10.0
You are affected if any Apple device you use runs an OS version below the thresholds: iOS/iPadOS below 17.0, macOS below 14.0, tvOS below 17.0, or watchOS below 10.0.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.014.017.0
Update affected devices to iOS 17+, iPadOS 17+, tvOS 17+, watchOS 10+, or macOS Sonoma 14+. Developers should verify their apps' NSAppTransportSecurity configurations and ensure proper ATS enforcement after updating.
iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, tvOS 17, watchOS 10
- Ensure all iOS devices are updated to iOS 17.0 or later
- Ensure all iPadOS devices are updated to iPadOS 17.0 or later
- Ensure all macOS devices are updated to macOS Sonoma 14.0 or later
- Ensure all tvOS devices are updated to tvOS 17.0 or later
- Ensure all Apple Watch devices are updated to watchOS 10.0 or later
- After updating, verify that App Transport Security is properly enforced in affected applications
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38596 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-38596 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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