dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-23218

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.3 / 14.3 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A timing side-channel issue was addressed with improvements to constant-time computation in cryptographic functions. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.7.6 and iPadOS 16.7.6, iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3, macOS Monterey 12.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.3, macOS Ventura 13.6.5, tvOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3. An attacker may be able to decrypt legacy RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts without having the private key.

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 timing side-channel vulnerability in Apple's cryptographic implementation allows attackers to decrypt legacy RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts by measuring timing differences during decryption operations, effectively bypassing the need for the private key through statistical analysis of operation timing.

MitigationApply the vendor security updates for the affected Apple products: iOS 16.7.6/17.3, iPadOS 16.7.6/17.3, macOS 12.7.4/13.6.5/14.3, tvOS 17.3, and watchOS 10.3. Organizations with custom cryptographic implementations should also review code for non-constant-time RSA decryption operations.

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:< 17.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.3
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 17.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/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 iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is below 17.3 (or between 16.7.5 and 16.7.6 if seeking fixes) and the device processes RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts
  2. Check macOS version
    Go to System Settings > About or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is 14.0, 14.1, or 14.2 and the system processes RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts
  3. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check via Xcode or Apple Configurator
    Affected if Version is below 17.3 and the device processes RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts
  4. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone > General > About, or check on the watch in Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 10.3 and the device processes RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 ciphertexts
  5. Identify RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 usage
    Review application logs, network traffic captures, or code that handles RSA decryption operations to determine if legacy PKCS#1 v1.5 padding is in use (as opposed to OAEP)
    Affected if The system or applications perform RSA decryption using PKCS#1 v1.5 padding

You are affected if your device runs an OS version below the fixed releases (iOS/iPadOS 17.3, macOS 14.3, tvOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3) AND your system processes RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 encrypted data.

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 10.3 / 14.3 / 17.3 or later
Fixed in 10.314.317.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security updates for the affected Apple products: iOS 16.7.6/17.3, iPadOS 16.7.6/17.3, macOS 12.7.4/13.6.5/14.3, tvOS 17.3, and watchOS 10.3. Organizations with custom cryptographic implementations should also review code for non-constant-time RSA decryption operations.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 17.3/iPadOS 17.3 (or 16.7.6 for older devices), macOS 14.3/13.6.5/12.7.4, tvOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Upgrade to iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 (or iOS 16.7.6/iPadOS 16.7.6 for devices that do not support iOS 17)
  2. For macOS: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.3, macOS Ventura 13.6.5, or macOS Monterey 12.7.4 depending on your currently supported macOS version
  3. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 17.3
  4. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 10.3
  5. After upgrading, verify the system reports the new version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings/About This Mac (macOS)
Caveat Users on older devices that cannot upgrade to iOS 17 should note that iOS 16.7.6 is the final security update for iOS 16; macOS Monterey 12.7.4 is the final update for that major version

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-2024-23218 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