dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-41232

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.7 / 13.6 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
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Ventura 13.6, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7. An app may be able to disclose kernel memory.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Apple's kernel (XNU) allows a malicious application to read beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially exposing kernel memory contents. The vulnerability was fixed by adding improved bounds checking in the affected code paths.

MitigationApply the relevant Apple security updates (iOS 16.7/17, iPadOS 16.7/17, macOS Monterey 12.7, macOS Ventura 13.6) to all affected devices to patch the kernel memory disclosure 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:< 16.7
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.7>= 13.0, < 13.6

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 devices
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version shows 12.0.0 through 12.6.x or 13.0 through 13.5.x (the first number in the version is 12 or 13, and the build is not 12.7 or 13.6 or higher)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the device
    Affected if The version displayed is below 16.7 (for example, 16.6, 16.5, 16.4, etc.)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the device
    Affected if The version displayed is below 16.7 (for example, 16.6, 16.5, 16.4, etc.)

A device is affected if it runs macOS 12.0.0-12.6.x, 13.0-13.5.x, iOS below 16.7, or iPadOS below 16.7.

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 12.7 / 13.6 / 16.7 or later
Fixed in 12.713.616.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Apple security updates (iOS 16.7/17, iPadOS 16.7/17, macOS Monterey 12.7, macOS Ventura 13.6) to all affected devices to patch the kernel memory disclosure vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS/iPadOS 16.7+ or 17.0+ | macOS Monterey 12.7 | macOS Ventura 13.6

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 16.7 or later (iOS 17.0+ recommended)
  2. For macOS Monterey (12.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.7
  3. For macOS Ventura (13.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.6
  4. After upgrading, verify the version in Settings/About to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Standard OS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility before upgrading, backup important data

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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-2023-41232 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