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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 16 Aug 2023.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-38606

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.6 / 11.7.9 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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
This issue was addressed with improved state 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 modify sensitive kernel state. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

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 kernel-level vulnerability in Apple operating systems allows a malicious or compromised application to modify sensitive kernel state due to improper state management. This local privilege escalation issue was actively exploited as a zero-day against iOS versions prior to 15.7.1.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security update for the installed OS version (iOS 15.7.8+, iOS 16.6+, macOS 12.6.8+, macOS 13.5+, etc.) to patch the kernel state management flaw.

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your Apple platform
    Determine whether the device is running iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On iOS/iPadOS, check Settings > General. On macOS, check System Settings > About. On tvOS/watchOS, check Settings > General.
    Affected if Any device running one of these five Apple operating systems
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number (for example, 15.7 or 16.5).
    Affected if Version is earlier than 15.7.8, OR version is 16.0 or later but earlier than 16.6
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, go to System Settings > About (or System Preferences > About on older versions) and note the macOS version (for example, 12.5 or 13.4).
    Affected if Version is 11.0 or later but earlier than 11.7.9, OR version is 12.0.0 or later but earlier than 12.6.8, OR version is 13.0 or later but earlier than 13.5
  4. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number.
    Affected if Version is earlier than 16.6
  5. Check watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, open the Settings app, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version.
    Affected if Version is earlier than 9.6

The device is affected if it runs any of the listed Apple OS platforms and the installed version falls within the specified vulnerable ranges.

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 appropriate Apple security update for the installed OS version (iOS 15.7.8+, iOS 16.6+, macOS 12.6.8+, macOS 13.5+, etc.) to patch the kernel state management flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.8 / iOS 16.6, iPadOS 15.7.8 / iPadOS 16.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9 / macOS Monterey 12.6.8 / macOS Ventura 13.5, tvOS 16.6, watchOS 9.6

  1. Check the current iOS/iPadOS version by going to Settings > General > About
  2. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. Check the current tvOS version by going to Settings > General > About
  4. Check the current watchOS version by going to Settings > General > About
  5. Back up important data on the device using iCloud or Finder/iTunes
  6. For iPhone/iPad: Upgrade to iOS 15.7.8 or iPadOS 15.7.8, or upgrade to iOS 16.6/iPadOS 16.6
  7. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, or macOS Ventura 13.5 depending on hardware capability
  8. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 16.6
Caveat Upgrades may remove support for some older apps; ensure app compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

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-2023-38606 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