CVE-2023-41988
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed by restricting options offered on a locked device. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.1, watchOS 10.1, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1. An attacker with physical access may be able to use Siri to access sensitive user data.
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 confidenceThis is a lock screen bypass vulnerability where an attacker with physical access could use Siri on a locked device to access sensitive user data. The fix involved restricting the options and capabilities offered by Siri when invoked on a locked device, preventing unauthorized data access without first unlocking the device.
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>= 17.0, < 17.1>= 17.0, < 17.1>= 14.0, < 14.1< 10.1CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS or iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number (e.g., 17.0.3)Affected if Version is 17.0 or higher but lower than 17.1
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Check macOS versionGo to System Settings > About or click Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (e.g., 14.0)Affected if Version is 14.0 or higher but lower than 14.1
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Check watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About and note the watchOS versionAffected if Version is lower than 10.1
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Verify Siri lock screen access settingOn iOS/iPadOS: go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and check if 'Siri' is enabled while the device is locked. On macOS: go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Siri and check if 'Allow Siri when locked' is enabled.Affected if Siri is enabled on the lock screen AND the device runs an affected OS version listed above
The device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS 17.0-17.0.x, macOS 14.0-14.0.x, or watchOS below 10.1 AND has Siri enabled to function on the lock screen.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.114.117.1
Apply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 17.1 or later, iPadOS 17.1 or later, watchOS 10.1 or later, or macOS Sonoma 14.1 or later.
iOS 17.1, iPadOS 17.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1, or watchOS 10.1 (depending on device)
- Back up your device data before updating
- For iPhone: Update to iOS 17.1 via Settings > General > Software Update
- For iPad: Update to iPadOS 17.1 via Settings > General > Software Update
- For Mac: Update to macOS Sonoma 14.1 via System Settings > General > Software Update
- For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 10.1 via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update
- After updating, verify the update was applied successfully in Settings/About
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-41988 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-41988 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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