CVE-2023-28205
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.4.1, iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1, macOS Ventura 13.3.1. 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.
- CVSS
- 8.8Highscored by CISA
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 10 Apr 2023CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 1 May 2023unvetted proof-of-concept code on github
- EPSS
- 27.1%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 10 Apr 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Apple iOS and iPadOS | < 15.7< 16.4Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Apple macOS | < 13.3Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Apple Safari | < 16.4Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- apple:safari
- apple:ipados
- apple:iphone_os
- apple:macos
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The vulnerability is triggered by processing maliciously crafted web content, which is delivered via HTTP requests to the Safari browser or related Apple OS web components. The malicious content appears as normal web content, so a web application firewall cannot reliably distinguish it from legitimate traffic.
Also consider: patch
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 10 Apr 2023.
- CISA due date
- 1 May 2023, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Public exploit code
- Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 2 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 28 Jan 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
GitHub proofs of concept
- ntfargo/uaf-2023-2820518 stars
- seregonwar/uaf-2023-282059 stars
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 10 Apr 2023Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)
- 10 Apr 2023Published1 day later
- 1 May 2023CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)20 days later
- 30 Nov 2024First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)579 days (about 2 years) later
- 28 Jan 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active60 days (about 2 months) later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated266 days (about 9 months) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. | A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-28205 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-28205 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-28205?
CVE-2023-28205 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-28205?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-28205. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-28205 affect?
CVE-2023-28205 affects apple:safari, apple:ipados, apple:iphone_os, apple:macos. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
5 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (5)
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213723
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213722
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213721
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213720
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-28205
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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