dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-42970

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0 / 14.0 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, Safari 17. Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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 use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit allows arbitrary code execution when processing malicious web content. The issue was addressed through improved memory management in the affected Apple products.

MitigationUpdate all affected devices to iOS 17 and later, macOS Sonoma 14 and later, watchOS 10 and later, tvOS 17 and later, or Safari 17 and later.

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:< 17.0
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 14.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 17.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.0

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Identify the Apple product
    Determine which Apple device or software you are running (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Safari browser)
    Affected if The device runs any Apple software listed in the affected products
  2. Check Safari version on macOS or iOS
    On macOS: Open Safari > Safari menu > About Safari. On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > Safari > About. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if Safari version is earlier than 17.0
  3. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device. Note the version number (for example, 16.7.x or 17.0).
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS version is earlier than 17.0
  4. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number (for example, 13.x or 14.0).
    Affected if macOS version is earlier than 14.0
  5. Check tvOS or watchOS version
    On Apple TV: Go to Settings > General > About. On Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone > General > About. Note the version number.
    Affected if tvOS version is earlier than 17.0 or watchOS version is earlier than 10.0

You are affected if the installed Apple product version is below the fixed version threshold (iOS/iPadOS/Safari/tvOS/watchOS < 17.0, macOS < 14.0, watchOS < 10.0) and the device processes untrusted web content through WebKit.

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 10.0 / 14.0 / 17.0 or later
Fixed in 10.014.017.0
Interim mitigation

Update all affected devices to iOS 17 and later, macOS Sonoma 14 and later, watchOS 10 and later, tvOS 17 and later, or Safari 17 and later.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 17 / iPadOS 17 / macOS Sonoma 14 / watchOS 10 / tvOS 17 / Safari 17

  1. Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV)
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 17 or iPadOS 17
  3. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14
  4. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > Software Update and upgrade to watchOS 10
  5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to tvOS 17
  6. Safari 17 is included with macOS Sonoma 14; for other macOS versions, check Software Update for Safari 17 availability
  7. After updating, verify the version in Settings/About to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Major OS version upgrades may have UI changes, app compatibility considerations, or require sufficient storage space; backup device before upgrading

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2023-42970 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