dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 16 Oct 2023.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-41992

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.7 / 13.6 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Zero-click

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 checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7, macOS Ventura 13.6. A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges. 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 · moderate confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Apple operating systems that was being actively exploited in the wild. The issue was addressed through improved validation checks, allowing a local attacker to elevate privileges. Affects iOS before 16.7, iPadOS before 16.7, macOS Monterey before 12.7, and macOS Ventura before 13.6.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates (iOS 16.7+, iPadOS 16.7+, macOS Monterey 12.7+, macOS Ventura 13.6+) to all affected devices. Prioritize patching iOS devices given confirmed active exploitation.

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= 17.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7= 17.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.7>= 13.0, < 13.6

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number, or connect device to computer and use iTunes/Finder to view software version
    Affected if Version is less than 16.7, or version is exactly 17.0
  2. Check macOS version
    Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS) > About, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or use Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if macOS version is 12.0 through 12.6.x (Monterey), or 13.0 through 13.5.x (Ventura)
  3. Confirm patch status
    If running an affected version, check for available system software updates in Settings > General > Software Update (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings > General > Software Update (macOS)
    Affected if Updates are available and not yet installed, indicating the device is unpatched

A device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS version less than 16.7, exactly 17.0, macOS Monterey 12.0-12.6.x, or macOS Ventura 13.0-13.5.x, and the corresponding security updates have not been applied.

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 12.7 / 13.6 / 16.7 or later
Fixed in 12.713.616.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates (iOS 16.7+, iPadOS 16.7+, macOS Monterey 12.7+, macOS Ventura 13.6+) to all affected devices. Prioritize patching iOS devices given confirmed active exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.7+/iPadOS 16.7+/macOS Monterey 12.7+/macOS Ventura 13.6+

  1. Identify the device type (iPhone, iPad, or Mac) and current operating system version
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Ensure the device is running iOS/iPadOS 16.7 or later. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 16.7+ or the latest compatible version
  3. For Mac running Monterey (12.x): Upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.7 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For Mac running Ventura (13.x): Upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.6 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update
  5. After upgrading, verify the new OS version in Settings/About to confirm the patch is applied
  6. Note: This is a privilege escalation vulnerability; ensure the device is not jailbroken and only install updates from official Apple sources
Caveat Standard iOS/macOS upgrade considerations apply: backup important data before updating, verify app compatibility with new OS version, and ensure sufficient battery or power connection during installation

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-41992 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-41992 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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