dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-41984

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 12.7 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Ventura 13.6, tvOS 17, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7, macOS Monterey 12.7, watchOS 10, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

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 the Apple kernel allows a malicious application to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code with kernel-level access. This is a local privilege escalation (LPE) requiring the attacker to already have code execution as a local user.

MitigationApply the relevant security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS) as listed in the fixed versions.

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
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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version is less than 16.7 (for example, 16.6.x or earlier)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version is less than 16.7 (for example, 16.6.x or earlier)
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac and look at the version number under macOS
    Affected if Version is 12.0.0 through 12.6.x, or 13.0 through 13.5.x
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version
    Affected if Version is less than 17.0 (for example, 16.x or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    On iPhone, open Watch app > My Watch > General > About > Software Version
    Affected if Version is less than 10.0 (for example, 9.x or earlier)

Your device is affected if its operating system version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: iOS/iPadOS < 16.7, macOS 12.0.0-12.6.x or 13.0-13.5.x, tvOS < 17.0, or watchOS < 10.0.

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 / 12.7 / 13.6 or later
Fixed in 10.012.713.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS) as listed in the fixed versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.7+/iPadOS 16.7+, macOS 12.7, macOS 13.6, tvOS 17, watchOS 10

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.7 or later (iOS 17 recommended)
  2. For macOS 12.x (Monterey): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS 12.7
  3. For macOS 13.x (Ventura): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS 13.6
  4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install tvOS 17
  5. For watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app > General > Software Update and install watchOS 10
  6. After updating, verify the version in Settings > General > About
Caveat Apple security updates may have minor compatibility changes with older third-party apps; generally low risk for security patches

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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-2023-41984 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