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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2023-41986: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited : upgrade to 17 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity
High

Rated High by the CNA (apple) · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 21% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 17

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 26 Sep 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 apple/ipados to 17.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Appleapple/iospkg:deb/apple/iosOther threatsAffected
  • <17
Fixed in
  • 17
Appleapple/ipadospkg:deb/apple/ipadosOther threatsAffected
  • <17
Fixed in
  • 17

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix is available in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. Users and administrators should update affected devices to these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability.

Description

CVE-2023-41986 is a vulnerability in Apple iOS and iPadOS where an app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system. This issue was addressed with improved checks and fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

References

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