CVE-2023-41991
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 · uneditedA certificate validation issue was addressed. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.6, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7. A malicious app may be able to bypass signature validation. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.7.
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 certificate validation bypass vulnerability in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS that allows a malicious app to bypass code signature validation. This fundamentally undermines the operating system's code signing security model, which is a core security control that ensures only Apple-approved code runs on the platform.
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< 16.7= 17.0< 16.7= 17.0>= 13.0, < 13.6CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS version on iPhoneOpen Settings > General > About and look at the 'Software Version' fieldAffected if Version is less than 16.7 or equals 17.0
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOpen Settings > General > About and look at the 'Software Version' fieldAffected if Version is less than 16.7 or equals 17.0
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Check macOS version on MacOpen System Settings > About (or System Preferences > About on older macOS) and look at the macOS version numberAffected if Version is 13.0, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, or 13.5 (any version from 13.0 up to but not including 13.6)
Your device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS version lower than 16.7, exactly 17.0, or macOS Ventura between 13.0 and 13.5 inclusive.
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 · scoped13.616.7
Apply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 16.7, iPadOS 16.7, or macOS Ventura 13.6 or later. Given confirmed active exploitation, priority should be given to patching any devices running iOS versions before 16.7.
iOS 16.7, iPadOS 16.7, or macOS Ventura 13.6 depending on device type
- Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, or Mac)
- Check the current iOS/iPadOS version via Settings > General > About, or macOS version via About This Mac
- Fully backup the device before proceeding with the update
- For iPhone/iPad: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 16.7
- For Mac: Navigate to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.6
- Verify the update was successful by checking the OS version matches the fixed release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-41991 — 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-2023-41991 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