Threats / Apple / CVE-2023-41974
CVE-2023-41974
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Apple iOS and iPadOS vulnerability
A use-after-free vulnerability in Apple iOS and iPadOS allows malicious apps to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, potentially compromising device security and user data.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
This kernel-level code execution vulnerability poses significant risk to iOS and iPadOS users. Active exploitation in the wild demonstrates practical threat, though no ransomware campaigns have been attributed. Patching is critical for affected devices.
CISA KEV Yes · 2026-03-054EPSS 0.0141 (verify live)5Exploit Public PoC6CVSS 7.8 (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
4 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 2026-03-05).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.0141 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Apple, iOS and iPadOS. 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-416 Use After Free — 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 785 days after 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 craft a malicious app that exploits the use-after-free condition to gain kernel-level code execution on the target device.
Business
Device compromise enables attackers to steal sensitive data, install persistent malware, or pivot to corporate networks, creating liability and reputational damage.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I bypass app sandbox restrictions by executing kernel code, allowing me to access protected system resources and user data without consent.
Business
Loss of user trust and potential regulatory penalties for inadequate platform security controls protecting personal information.
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