Threats / Apple / CVE-2023-28206
CVE-2023-28206
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS vulnerability
Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS IOSurfaceAccelerator contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability allowing malicious apps to execute code with kernel privileges.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An attacker can craft a malicious app that exploits an out-of-bounds write in IOSurfaceAccelerator to achieve kernel-level code execution, bypassing security boundaries and gaining complete system control.
CISA KEV Yes · 2023-04-104EPSS 0.24513 (verify live)5Exploit Public PoC6CVSS 8.6 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
13 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-04-10).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.24513 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 8.6 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Apple, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog the same day the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I develop a malicious app and distribute it through app stores or sideloading.
Business
User trust in app ecosystem integrity is compromised; distribution channels face reputational damage.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I trigger the out-of-bounds write vulnerability in IOSurfaceAccelerator through crafted graphics operations.
Business
Device security model fails; kernel isolation is defeated.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, gaining unrestricted access to system resources and user data.
Business
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all user data and device functions are compromised.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05