Actively exploited vulnerability
Apple products: memory corruption flaw under attack
CVE-2023-32373 · Apple Multiple Products WebKit Use-After-Free Vulnerability
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, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and Safari WebKit contain a use-after-free 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.
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
- 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.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- 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.
Vendor advisories and fixes
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213757
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213758
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213761
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213762
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213764
- support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/HT213765
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 22, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 12, 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 12% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 96% 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 use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, macOS Ventura 13.4, iOS 15.7.6 and iPadOS 15.7.6, Safari 16.5, iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5. 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.