dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-40528

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 13.6.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 by removing the vulnerable code. This issue is fixed in tvOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Ventura 13.6.4. An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences.

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 confidence

This is a privacy bypass vulnerability in Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS) where an application could circumvent Privacy preferences. The vulnerability was addressed by removing the vulnerable code path in the affected OS versions.

MitigationUpdate all affected devices to tvOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS Ventura 13.6.4 or later to patch the vulnerability.

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:< 17.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.6.4
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
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. Check macOS version on Mac computers
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion. Alternatively, go to Apple menu > About This Mac.
    Affected if The version is 13.0 through 13.6.3 (any version >= 13.0 but < 13.6.4)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhones
    Open Settings > General > About > Version. Alternatively, connect to computer and check in Finder/iTunes or run: idevicesysinfo (if tools available).
    Affected if The version is any release before 17.0 (e.g., 16.x, 15.x)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPads
    Open Settings > General > About > Version. Alternatively, connect to computer and check in Finder/iTunes.
    Affected if The version is any release before 17.0 (e.g., 16.x, 15.x)
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV devices
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV.
    Affected if The version is any release before 17.0 (e.g., 16.x)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or open Settings > General > About on the Apple Watch itself.
    Affected if The version is any release before 10.0 (e.g., 9.x)

The device is affected if it runs any macOS version from 13.0 to 13.6.3, or any iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS version below 17.0, 17.0, 17.0, and 10.0 respectively.

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 / 13.6.4 / 17.0 or later
Fixed in 10.013.6.417.0
Interim mitigation

Update all affected devices to tvOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma 14, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS Ventura 13.6.4 or later to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 17 / iPadOS 17 / macOS Ventura 13.6.4 / macOS Sonoma 14 / tvOS 17 / watchOS 10

  1. Check current device OS version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings > General > About (macOS)
  2. Back up important data before upgrading
  3. Upgrade iPhone/iPad to iOS/iPadOS 17.0 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. Upgrade macOS Ventura to 13.6.4 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update, or upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14
  5. Upgrade tvOS to 17.0 or later via Settings > General > Apple TV Software Update
  6. Upgrade watchOS to 10.0 or later via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update
  7. Restart the device after updating to ensure the security fix is fully applied
Caveat Standard OS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility and ensure backups exist before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40528 — 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-2023-40528 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