Exploited

CVE-2023-41064

Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS · Phones, tablets and chipsets

Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS ImageIO Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on September 11, 2023.

Affected product: Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS (category Phones, tablets and chipsets, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

What should I do?

Apply the patches or mitigations from Apple; if none are available, stop using the product.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 21 days (due October 2, 2023). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

Apple security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2023-41064 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Timeline

September 7, 2023 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
September 11, 2023 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
October 2, 2023 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on September 11, 2023 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the patches or mitigations from Apple; if none are available, stop using the product. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
CISA deadline: October 2, 2023, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
Vulnerability published: September 7, 2023 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 11:29 UTC
Product according to CISA: Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Filed by this site under “Phones, tablets and chipsets” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 11:25 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 11:29 UTC

Severity and activity

7.8 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

A buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.6.1 and iPadOS 16.6.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.9, macOS Ventura 13.5.2, iOS 15.7.9 and iPadOS 15.7.9, macOS Big Sur 11.7.10. Processing a maliciously crafted image may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS contain a buffer overflow vulnerability in ImageIO when processing a maliciously crafted image, which may lead to code execution. This vulnerability was chained with CVE-2023-41061.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).