CVE-2023-40438VulnerabilityPublished 10 Jan 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-40438: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An app may be able to access edited photos saved to a temporary directory

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium : upgrade to 16.7 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 16.7

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

Attack Vector: Local
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: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
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

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Jan 2024
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 2026-10-26.

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

Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to 16.7.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apple iOS and iPadOS	Affected <16.7	Fixed in 16.7

AI-suggested

1. Immediately update all Apple devices to iOS 16.7, iPadOS 16.7, or macOS Sonoma 14 or later to apply the official fix. 2. Implement strict app vetting policies to limit installation of untrusted or unnecessary apps that could exploit this vulnerability. 3. Restrict app permissions related to file system and photo access, ensuring apps only have access to necessary data. 4. Educate users on the risks of granting permissions and encourage cautious behavior when interacting with apps that request access to photos or files. 5. Employ Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce update compliance and monitor app behaviors related to file access. 6. Regularly audit installed apps and their permissions to detect any anomalous access patterns. 7. For highly sensitive environments, consider restricting the use of personal devices or enforcing strict separation of personal and corporate data. 8. Monitor security advisories for any emerging exploits related to this vulnerability and be prepared to respond rapidly.

Description

An issue was addressed with improved handling of temporary files. This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7. An app may be able to access edited photos saved to a temporary directory.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-40438 is the potential breach of confidentiality of sensitive images stored temporarily during editing on iOS and iPadOS devices. This could lead to privacy violations, especially for sectors handling sensitive or personal data such as healthcare, legal, finance, and government agencies. Unauthorized access to edited photos could expose personal or corporate information, damaging trust and potentially violating GDPR and other privacy regulations. Although the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the exposure of private images could be leveraged for social engineering or targeted attacks. The requirement for user interaction and local access limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where multiple apps are installed or where users may inadvertently grant permissions. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not preclude future exploitation attempts. Organizations relying on Apple mobile devices should consider this vulnerability a privacy risk and act accordingly to protect sensitive data.

CWE-379Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: LowOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product creates a temporary file in a directory whose permissions allow unintended actors to determine the file's existence or otherwise access that file.
Requirements
Many contemporary languages have functions which properly handle this condition. Older C temp file functions are especially susceptible.
Implementation
Try to store sensitive tempfiles in a directory which is not world readable -- i.e., per-user directories.
Implementation
Avoid using vulnerable temp file functions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 19:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-379

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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