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Full vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2023-38606High confidence

Apple Multiple Products Kernel Unspecified Vulnerability

Apple · Multiple Products

5.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-08-16 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Critical, raised 2 bands.upgradedsince 26 Jul 2023

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • EPSS is 2.90% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Apple Multiple Products and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2023-42405

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6. An app may be able to modify sensitive kernel state. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 26 Jul 2023. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
5.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
2 linked advisory records
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-08-16 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS contain an unspecified vulnerability allowing an app to modify a sensitive kernel state.

What

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS contain an unspecified vulnerability allowing an app to modify a sensitive kernel state.

Why

The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS contain an unspecified vulnerability allowing an app to modify a sensitive kernel state.

Why

The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2023-07-26.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → vulnerable operation → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
Required interaction required
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration.
CWE not yet assigned
CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
UnauthenticatedCISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-42405Known-exploited evidence recorded

This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6. An app may be able to modify sensitive kernel state. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

Official EUVD record ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2023-1874Apple iOS: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein entfernter anonymer Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Apple iOS und Apple iPadOS ausnutzen, um beliebigen Code auszuführen, vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen, vertrauliche Kernel-Zustände zu verändern, seine Privilegien zu erhöhen, einen Denial-of-Service zu verursachen oder Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu umgehen. Eine erfolgreiche Ausnutzung erfordert eine Benutzerinteraktion.

Official advisory ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2023-1880Apple macOS: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein entfernter, anonymer, authentisierter oder lokaler Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Apple macOS ausnutzen, um beliebigen Code auszuführen, Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu umgehen, vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen, einen Denial-of-Service-Zustand herbeizuführen und seine Privilegien zu erweitern.

Official advisory ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AV23-433Apple security advisory (AV23-433)

On July 24, 2023, Apple published security updates to address vulnerabilities in the following products: Apple has received reports that CVE-2023-37450 and CVE-2023-38606 may have been actively exploited.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20230802Security Bulletin 02 Aug 2023

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 02 Aug 2023, published on 2 August 2023. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2023-AVI-0581Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Apple

d?id=CVE-2023-38572 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38580 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38580 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38593 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38593 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38594 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38594 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38595 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38595 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38597 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38597 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38600 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38600 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38602 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38602 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38603 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38603 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38606 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38606 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38608 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38608 Référence CVE CVE-2023-38611 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38611 Gestion détaillée du document le 25 juillet 2023 Version initiale Alertes Avis Bulletins d’actualités Mentions légales Conditions générales À propos Contact cyber.gouv.fr service-public.fr legifrance.gouv.fr info.gouv.fr france.fr info.gouv.fr/risques Premier Ministre / Secrétariat Général de la Défense et de la Sécurité Nationale / Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2023-020887複数のアップル製品における脆弱性

iPadOS、iOS、macOS 等複数のアップル製品には、不特定の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5963현재 악용되고 있는 Exploit(Update. 2023-07-26)

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS contain an unspecified vulnerability allowing an app to modify sensitive kernel state.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
  • tvOS: unspecified < 16.6
  • iOS and iPadOS: unspecified < 16.6, unspecified < 15.7
  • macOS: unspecified < 13.5, unspecified < 11.7, unspecified < 12.6
  • watchOS: unspecified < 9.6
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 26 Jul 2023 · Last source change 30 Oct 2025, 18:31 UTC · CWE not yet assigned

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-42405
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceUnavailable
NVD statusNVD enriched

Missing structured fields: CWE classification. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed remediation: cyber.gc.ca/apple-security-advisory-av23-433.
    Before
    remediation: cyber.gc.ca/apple-security-advisory-av23-433 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT213841 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT213842 · 5 more references
    After
    vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT213841 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT213842 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT213843 · 4 more references
    support.apple.com ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Mitigation available to Awaiting fix.
    Before
    Mitigation available
    After
    Awaiting fix
    support.apple.com ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    unspecified < 16.6; unspecified < 13.5; unspecified < 15.7; unspecified < 11.7; unspecified < 12.6; unspecified < 9.6 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    tvOS: unspecified < 16.6; iOS and iPadOS: unspecified < 16.6, unspecified < 15.7; macOS: unspecified < 13.5, unspecified < 11.7, unspecified < 12.6; watchOS: unspecified < 9.6 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
  4. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Mitigation available
    Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-42405↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2023-38606 · cve.blacktree.nl