dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-40414

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 10, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, Safari 17. Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit allowing arbitrary code execution when processing malicious web content. The vulnerability involves improper memory management where freed memory is accessed, leading to potential code execution. Affects Safari and WebKit-based applications across multiple Apple platforms.

MitigationApply available security updates (iOS 17+, iPadOS 17+, watchOS 10+, tvOS 17+, macOS Sonoma 14+, Safari 17) to all affected devices. Until patched, avoid visiting untrusted websites or clicking unknown links.

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:< 17.0
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 14.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 your Apple platform and Safari version
    On macOS, open Safari and go to Safari > About Safari to see the version number. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About and note the iOS/iPadOS version. On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About. On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if Safari version is below 17.0 (macOS) or the OS version is below the patched release (iOS 17+, iPadOS 17+, watchOS 10+, tvOS 17+, macOS 14+)
  2. Check macOS version if Safari is not standalone
    On Mac, open Apple menu > About This Mac to see the macOS version. The WebKit component updates with macOS system updates.
    Affected if macOS version is below 14.0 (Sonoma)
  3. Confirm WebKit-based application usage
    Identify applications that embed WebKit on your device, such as third-party browsers (Chrome, Firefox use their own engines but may embed WebKit for some features), mail clients, or other apps that render web content.
    Affected if Any WebKit-based application is in use on an unpatched system
  4. Verify if automatic updates are enabled
    On macOS: System Settings > General > Software Update > automatic updates should be on. On iOS/iPadOS: Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates should be enabled.
    Affected if Automatic updates are disabled and the device has not received the latest security patches

You are affected if your Safari is below 17.0 or your operating system (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) is below version 17.0 (or 14.0 for macOS, 10.0 for watchOS) and you browse web content.

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 10.0 / 14.0 / 17.0 or later
Fixed in 10.014.017.0
Interim mitigation

Apply available security updates (iOS 17+, iPadOS 17+, watchOS 10+, tvOS 17+, macOS Sonoma 14+, Safari 17) to all affected devices. Until patched, avoid visiting untrusted websites or clicking unknown links.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to watchOS 10, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, or Safari 17 depending on the affected device

  1. Identify the affected Apple device(s) in your environment (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch)
  2. Determine the current installed version of the affected software on each device
  3. For iPhones and iPads: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 17 or iPadOS 17
  4. For Macs: Navigate to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sonoma 14
  5. For Apple TVs: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 17
  6. For Apple Watches: On the iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 10
  7. For Safari on older macOS: Install Safari 17 via Software Update or download from Apple
Caveat Ensure device hardware supports the target OS version before upgrading (older devices may not support iOS 17/macOS 14)

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40414 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-40414 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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