Actively exploited vulnerability

Apple products: memory corruption flaw under attack

CVE-2023-23529 · Apple Multiple Products WebKit Type Confusion Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it8.8 high

What is affected

Apple products are found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use them and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Apple iOS, MacOS, Safari and iPadOS WebKit contain a type confusion vulnerability that leads to code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content. This vulnerability could impact HTML parsers that use WebKit, including but not limited to Apple Safari and non-Apple products which rely on WebKit for HTML processing.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a memory corruption flaw. It lets an attacker corrupt the program's memory by feeding it specially crafted content: a web page, a file or a network message. The result ranges from a crash to the attacker running their own code.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
Yes, the victim must open or click something

What to do

  1. Update Apple products now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on February 14, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 7, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 9.5% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 95% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

A type confusion issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.7.4 and iPadOS 15.7.4, iOS 16.3.1 and iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, Safari 16.3. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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