dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-41983

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.1 / 16.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
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
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, Safari 17.1, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1. Processing web content may lead to a denial-of-service.

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

A memory handling vulnerability in WebKit allows malicious web content to cause a denial-of-service condition. The issue is triggered when processing specially crafted web content in Safari or mobile browsers, potentially leading to application crashes or system unresponsiveness.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later, Safari 17.1 or later, iOS/iPadOS 16.7.2 or later, or iOS/iPadOS 17.1 or later. Ensure all managed Apple devices receive the security patches through MDM or user notification.

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:< 17.1
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 37= 38= 39
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0= 12.0
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2>= 17.0, < 17.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2>= 17.0, < 17.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.1

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, click Safari menu > About Safari to view the version number
    Affected if Version is earlier than 17.1 on a Mac running macOS 14.0-14.1 or where Safari can be updated to 17.1
  2. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac to see the macOS version number
    Affected if macOS version is 14.0 through 14.1 (Sonoma) and Safari is not yet updated to 17.1 or later
  3. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About to view iOS version
    Affected if iOS version is earlier than 16.7.2, or is 17.0 through 17.0.x (less than 17.1)
  4. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About to view iPadOS version
    Affected if iPadOS version is earlier than 16.7.2, or is 17.0 through 17.0.x (less than 17.1)
  5. Check WebKit package on Fedora Linux
    Run 'dnf list installed webkit2gtk4.0' or 'rpm -qa | grep webkit' to list installed WebKit packages and versions
    Affected if Running Fedora 37, 38, or 39 with WebKitGTK installed and unpatched

You are affected if using Safari before 17.1 on macOS 14.0-14.1, iOS/iPadOS before 16.7.2 or 17.0-17.0.x, or unpatched Fedora/Debian with vulnerable WebKit versions, and processing untrusted web content with JavaScript enabled.

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 14.1 / 16.7.2 / 17.1 or later
Fixed in 14.116.7.217.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied updates: macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later, Safari 17.1 or later, iOS/iPadOS 16.7.2 or later, or iOS/iPadOS 17.1 or later. Ensure all managed Apple devices receive the security patches through MDM or user notification.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.1 / Safari 17.1 / iOS 16.7.2 / iOS 17.1 / iPadOS 16.7.2 / iPadOS 17.1 (depending on product)

  1. Identify the affected Apple product (Safari, iOS, iPadOS, or macOS)
  2. For macOS users: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later
  3. For Safari users: Upgrade to Safari 17.1 or later
  4. For iOS users: Upgrade to iOS 16.7.2 or later (for iOS 16.x) or iOS 17.1 or later (for iOS 17.x)
  5. For iPadOS users: Upgrade to iPadOS 16.7.2 or later (for iPadOS 16.x) or iPadOS 17.1 or later (for iPadOS 17.x)

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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-2023-41983 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