dbcve.org
Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2023-42848

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1 / 13.6.1 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 bounds checks. This issue is fixed in watchOS 10.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1, tvOS 17.1, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1. Processing a maliciously crafted image may lead to heap corruption.

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 Apple's image processing component allows heap corruption when processing a maliciously crafted image. The root cause is inadequate bounds checking during image parsing, leading to out-of-bounds memory access.

MitigationUpdate affected Apple devices to the patched versions: watchOS 10.1+, macOS Sonoma 14.1+, tvOS 17.1+, iOS/iPadOS 16.7.2+, iOS/iPadOS 17.1+, or macOS Ventura 13.6.1+.

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
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2>= 17.0, < 17.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.2>= 17.0, < 17.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.6.1= 14.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 17.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.1

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
    Open Settings > General > About on the iPhone and note the version number under 'Version'
    Affected if Version is earlier than 16.7.2, or is 17.0 through 17.0.x (before 17.1)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About on the iPad and note the version number under 'Version'
    Affected if Version is earlier than 16.7.2, or is 17.0 through 17.0.x (before 17.1)
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac and note the macOS version shown
    Affected if Version is 13.0 through 13.6.0 (before 13.6.1), or is exactly 14.0 (Sonoma)
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple TV and note the tvOS version
    Affected if Version is earlier than 17.1 (any 17.0.x or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About, or on the watch go to Settings > About
    Affected if Version is earlier than 10.1

The device is affected if its OS version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges listed above and the device processes untrusted image files through any built-in app.

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 10.1 / 13.6.1 / 16.7.2 or later
Fixed in 10.113.6.116.7.2
Interim mitigation

Update affected Apple devices to the patched versions: watchOS 10.1+, macOS Sonoma 14.1+, tvOS 17.1+, iOS/iPadOS 16.7.2+, iOS/iPadOS 17.1+, or macOS Ventura 13.6.1+.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1, iPadOS 16.7.2, iPadOS 17.1, macOS Ventura 13.6.1, macOS Sonoma 14.1, watchOS 10.1, tvOS 17.1

  1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV)
  2. Go to Settings > General > Software Update on iPhone/iPad, System Preferences > Software Update on macOS, or the Watch app on iPhone for watchOS
  3. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery or is charging
  4. Download and install the appropriate security update for your device
  5. For iPhone/iPad: Upgrade to iOS 16.7.2/iPadOS 16.7.2 or iOS 17.1/iPadOS 17.1
  6. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.6.1 or macOS Sonoma 14.1
  7. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 10.1
  8. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 17.1

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

Fix this in Ipad Os 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

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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-2023-42848 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