CVE-2023-28180VulnerabilityPublished 8 May 2023Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-28180: Apple macOS · A user in a privileged network position may be able to cause a denial-of-service

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 13.3 : update Apple macOS when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 60% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 13.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 8 May 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

European organizations should ensure all macOS devices are updated to at least Ventura 13.3 or later to apply the fix for CVE-2023-28180. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit privileged network positions and reduce the risk of an attacker gaining the necessary access to exploit this vulnerability. Monitoring network traffic for unusual patterns or malformed packets targeting macOS systems can help detect attempted exploitation. Employ strict access controls and network-level authentication to prevent unauthorized users from obtaining privileged network positions. Additionally, organizations should implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying abnormal system behavior indicative of DoS attempts. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing can help identify exposure to this and similar vulnerabilities. Finally, maintain an incident response plan that includes procedures for handling DoS incidents affecting macOS endpoints.

Description

A denial-of-service issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3. A user in a privileged network position may be able to cause a denial-of-service.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-28180 is service disruption due to denial-of-service conditions on macOS systems. Organizations relying on macOS for critical operations, network services, or endpoint management could experience downtime or degraded performance if exploited. This could affect sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and technology where macOS devices are prevalent. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, availability interruptions can lead to operational delays, loss of productivity, and potential reputational damage. In network environments where privileged network positions might be accessible to attackers (e.g., poorly segmented networks or insider threats), the risk is elevated. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the need for timely patching, especially in sensitive or high-availability contexts.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 20:47 UTC

Technical details

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