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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-40446: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Processing maliciously crafted input may lead to arbitrary code execution

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High : upgrade to 16.7.2 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:42 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 17% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 16.7.2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 12 Dec 2023

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to 16.7.2.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Apple iOS and iPadOSAffected
  • <16.7.2
Fixed in
  • 16.7.2

AI-suggested

European organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of the security updates released by Apple (iOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1, iPadOS 16.7.2, iPadOS 17.1, and macOS Monterey 12.7.1) across all managed Apple devices. Implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce patch compliance and monitor device health. Conduct targeted user awareness campaigns emphasizing the risks of interacting with unsolicited links or files, especially from unknown sources, to reduce the likelihood of exploitation via social engineering. Employ network-level protections such as email filtering and web content scanning to block malicious payloads before reaching end users. For BYOD environments, enforce strict security policies requiring timely updates and consider restricting access to sensitive resources from unpatched devices. Additionally, monitor device logs and network traffic for unusual activity indicative of exploitation attempts. Establish incident response plans that include procedures for compromised mobile devices to minimize impact and recovery time.

Description

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7.1, iOS 16.7.2 and iPadOS 16.7.2, iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1. Processing maliciously crafted input may lead to arbitrary code execution in user-installed apps.

References

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