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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 29 Jan 2024.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-41990

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.3 / 11.7.9 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 handling of caches. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.3, iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, macOS Ventura 13.2, watchOS 9.3. Processing a font file may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

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

A vulnerability in font file processing in multiple Apple operating systems allows arbitrary code execution due to improper cache handling. The vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild targeting iOS devices before iOS 15.7.1.

MitigationApply the available Apple security updates (iOS 15.7.8+/16.3+, iPadOS 15.7.8+/16.3+, macOS 11.7.9+/12.6.8+/13.2+, tvOS 16.3+, watchOS 9.3+) to all affected devices. For devices that cannot be updated, implement compensating controls such as restricting font file sources and using MDM to block untrusted font loading.

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:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.8>= 16.0, < 16.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.7.9>= 12.0.0, < 12.6.8>= 13.0, < 13.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.3

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 > Version to see the installed iOS version
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.8, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.3
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version to see the installed iPadOS version
    Affected if The version is less than 15.7.8, or greater than or equal to 16.0 but less than 16.3
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac to see the macOS version
    Affected if The version is less than 11.7.9, or between 12.0.0 and 12.6.7, or between 13.0 and 13.1.x
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version to see the tvOS version
    Affected if The version is less than 16.3
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About > Version
    Affected if The version is less than 9.3

A user is affected if their device runs any of the Apple OS versions listed in the affected ranges for their device type.

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 9.3 / 11.7.9 / 12.6.8 or later
Fixed in 9.311.7.912.6.8
Interim mitigation

Apply the available Apple security updates (iOS 15.7.8+/16.3+, iPadOS 15.7.8+/16.3+, macOS 11.7.9+/12.6.8+/13.2+, tvOS 16.3+, watchOS 9.3+) to all affected devices. For devices that cannot be updated, implement compensating controls such as restricting font file sources and using MDM to block untrusted font loading.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.8 / iOS 16.3, iPadOS 15.7.8 / iPadOS 16.3, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9 / macOS Monterey 12.6.8 / macOS Ventura 13.2, tvOS 16.3, watchOS 9.3

  1. Identify the current version of the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.7.8 or iOS 16.3 (depending on which major version you are on)
  3. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, or macOS Ventura 13.2 (depending on which major version you are on)
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 16.3
  5. For Apple Watch: Go to Settings > General > Software Update on the paired iPhone, or on the watch go to Settings > General > Software Update, and install watchOS 9.3
  6. After updating, verify the device is running the fixed version by checking Settings > General > About

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2023-41990 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