CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-40414NVD status: Modified

iOS and iPadOS: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-40414 is a critical-severity use after free vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS from Apple, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 17 as the first without the flaw, so updating iOS and iPadOS to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.15% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 67% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update iOS and iPadOS to 17 or a later version.
  2. Update tvOS to 17 or a later version.
  3. Update Safari to 17 or a later version.
  4. Read the advisory on support.apple.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  5. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOSbefore 1717
AppletvOSbefore 1717
AppleSafaribefore 1717
ApplemacOSbefore 1414
ApplewatchOSbefore 1010
AppleiPadOSbefore 17.017.0
AppleIphone OSbefore 17.017.0

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalCISA (ADP)

Official description

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 10, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, Safari 17. Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS

All iOS and iPadOS vulnerabilities

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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