CVE-2023-28204VulnerabilityPublished 23 Jun 2023Updated 21 Oct 2025

CVE-2023-28204: Apple macOS · Processing web content may disclose sensitive information

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 12 Jun 2023 · 14% EPSS · fixed in 9.5 : patch Apple macOS now.

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.

KEV deadline: 12 Jun 2023 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
EPSS: 14.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 96% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 9.5

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

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

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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Jun 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: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 32 days before disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by apple
2023-03-13, 102 days before disclosure
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
2023-05-22, 32 days before disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
2023-06-12, 11 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
2023-06-23, t = 0

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (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

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. 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 web content may disclose sensitive information. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk of sensitive data leakage through web browsers or other applications processing web content on Apple devices. Given the widespread use of Apple products in business and government sectors across Europe, unauthorized disclosure of confidential information could lead to privacy violations, intellectual property theft, and compliance issues under regulations such as GDPR. The vulnerability does not allow code execution or system compromise but can be leveraged to gather intelligence or facilitate further attacks. Organizations relying on macOS, iOS, or Safari for critical operations may face increased risk if users access untrusted web content. The impact is particularly significant for sectors handling sensitive personal or financial data, including finance, healthcare, and public administration. The requirement for user interaction means social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to trigger exploitation.

Mitigation

European organizations should prioritize deploying the security updates released by Apple for macOS Ventura 13.4, iOS 15.7.6, iPadOS 15.7.6, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, and Safari 16.5 to remediate this vulnerability. Beyond patching, organizations should implement strict web content filtering and employ endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting anomalous memory access patterns. User awareness training should emphasize the risks of interacting with suspicious websites or links. Network-level protections such as DNS filtering and web proxy solutions can reduce exposure to malicious web content. Monitoring for unusual browser behavior or memory access anomalies can help detect exploitation attempts. For high-security environments, consider restricting or sandboxing web browsing activities on Apple devices. Regular vulnerability scanning and compliance checks should verify patch status. Incident response plans should include procedures for potential data leakage incidents stemming from this vulnerability.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2025, 23:01 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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