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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 25 Dec 2023.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-42916

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.42.3 / 14.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable 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
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, macOS Sonoma 14.1.2, Safari 17.1.2. Processing web content may disclose sensitive information. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.7.1.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in WebKit (Apple's browser engine) allows processing of malicious web content to disclose sensitive information. The issue was addressed with improved input validation. This is a memory safety vulnerability that could allow attackers to read memory contents beyond buffer boundaries.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates (iOS 17.1.2, iPadOS 17.1.2, macOS Sonoma 14.1.2, or Safari 17.1.2). For systems unable to update, mitigate by restricting web browsing to trusted sources and disabling JavaScript where possible.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 17.1.2
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 38= 39
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0= 12.0
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.8.1>= 16.0, < 16.7.3>= 17.0, < 17.1.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.8.1>= 16.0, < 16.7.3>= 17.0, < 17.1.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.1.2
Webkitgtk\+Web browser
Affected:< 2.42.3

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, go to Safari menu > About Safari. Compare the version number to 17.1.2.
    Affected if The installed Safari version is lower than 17.1.2 and macOS is 14.0 or later.
  2. Check Safari version on iOS/iPadOS
    Open Settings app, go to General > About > Software Version. Compare the version number to the affected iOS/iPadOS ranges.
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS version is less than 15.8.1, or between 16.0 and 16.7.3, or between 17.0 and 17.1.2.
  3. Check macOS version if Safari cannot be checked directly
    Open System Settings > About > macOS Version. Compare to the affected range.
    Affected if macOS version is 14.0, 14.1, or 14.1.1 (anything >= 14.0 and < 14.1.2).
  4. Check WebKitGTK+ version on Fedora
    Run command: rpm -q webkit2gtk4.0 or dnf list installed webkit2gtk4.0. Compare version to 2.42.3.
    Affected if WebKitGTK+ version is lower than 2.42.3 on Fedora 38 or 39.
  5. Check WebKitGTK+ version on Debian
    Run command: dpkg -l libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 or apt show libwebkit2gtk-4.0-7 2>/dev/null. Compare version to 2.42.3.
    Affected if WebKitGTK+ version is lower than 2.42.3 on Debian 11.0 or 12.0.

You are affected if your browser uses a WebKit engine version lower than 17.1.2 (Safari/macOS/iOS/iPadOS) or lower than 2.42.3 (WebKitGTK+ on Linux), and you process untrusted web content.

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 2.42.3 / 14.1.2 / 15.8.1 or later
Fixed in 2.42.314.1.215.8.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates (iOS 17.1.2, iPadOS 17.1.2, macOS Sonoma 14.1.2, or Safari 17.1.2). For systems unable to update, mitigate by restricting web browsing to trusted sources and disabling JavaScript where possible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apple: macOS 14.1.2 (Sonoma), iOS 17.1.2, iPadOS 17.1.2, Safari 17.1.2 | WebKitGTK+: 2.42.3

  1. For macOS: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 or later via System Settings > Software Update
  2. For iOS/iPadOS: Upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 17.1.2 or later via Settings > General > Software Update (or iOS 16.7.3 for older devices)
  3. For Safari: Upgrade to Safari 17.1.2 or later (included with macOS 14.1.2)
  4. For WebKitGTK+: Upgrade to version 2.42.3 or later via your distribution's package manager
Caveat Standard OS/Safari update - minimal risk; ensure backups before updating

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,780
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,048.

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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-2023-42916 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