dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-40417

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
61/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
A window management issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in Safari 17, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14. Visiting a website that frames malicious content may lead to UI spoofing.

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 is a window management vulnerability where improper state handling in the browser's handling of framed content (iframes) could allow malicious websites to display spoofed UI elements, potentially tricking users into believing they're interacting with legitimate content. The issue stems from insufficient isolation between the parent page and framed content.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to Safari 17, iOS 17/iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, or macOS Sonoma 14 or later. For systems that cannot be updated, implement browser security policies to block untrusted framed content.

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
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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/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, click Safari menu > About Safari, or run 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is earlier than 17.0 (e.g., 16.x)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device, or check via Finder/iTunes when device is connected
    Affected if iOS version is earlier than 17.0 (e.g., 16.x)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device
    Affected if iPadOS version is earlier than 17.0 (e.g., 16.x)
  4. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal
    Affected if macOS version is earlier than 14.0 (e.g., 13.x Ventura or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or check on Apple Watch at Settings > General > About
    Affected if watchOS version is earlier than 10.0 (e.g., 9.x)

Your environment is affected if Safari is running on any macOS, iOS, iPadOS, or watchOS version earlier than the thresholds above, or if the OS versions themselves are below 17.0 (iOS/iPadOS), 14.0 (macOS), or 10.0 (watchOS).

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

Update affected devices to Safari 17, iOS 17/iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, or macOS Sonoma 14 or later. For systems that cannot be updated, implement browser security policies to block untrusted framed content.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 17, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14

  1. Identify the current version of the affected Apple product (Safari, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or macOS)
  2. For Safari: Upgrade to Safari 17 or later
  3. For iPhone: Upgrade to iOS 17 or later
  4. For iPad: Upgrade to iPadOS 17 or later
  5. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 10 or later
  6. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma (14) or later
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number in the system settings
Caveat Major OS upgrades to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma 14 may have compatibility issues with older applications not yet updated for these releases

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40417 — 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-2023-40417 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