CVE-2023-41992
Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS · Phones, tablets and chipsets
Apple Multiple Products Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
At a glance
Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on September 25, 2023.
Affected product: Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS (category Phones, tablets and chipsets, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Apple Multiple Products.
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 16, 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-2023-41992 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
- Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
- Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
- CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies
The facts, with their sources
- Exploitation confirmed
- Yes, on September 25, 2023 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 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 14:57 UTC
- Hunt for compromise
- Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 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 14:57 UTC
- CISA deadline
- October 16, 2023, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- Vulnerability published
- September 21, 2023 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
- Product according to CISA
- Apple Multiple Products Filed by this site under “Phones, tablets and chipsets” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 15:00 UTC
Severity and activity
FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.
Description
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7, macOS Ventura 13.6. A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.7.
Official description from the NVD, collected Sep 29, 2026. CVE® description © The MITRE Corporation.
Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS contain an unspecified vulnerability that allows for local privilege escalation.
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).