Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-27937

Memory Safety in Apple Macos ≤ 11.7.5

Memory Safety
Published
08 May 2023
Modified
29 January 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0026 18th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-27937 is a high-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 18th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3, iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.5, macOS Monterey 12.6.4, tvOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4. Parsing a maliciously crafted plist may lead…

more

to an unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution.

CWE(s)
CWE-190

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-36495Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-28185Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-64766Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-43780Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-40784Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-43769Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44198Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-31203Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-64765Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-31221Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 16.4
apple
iphone os
≤ 16.4
apple
macos
≤ 11.7.5 · 12.0 — 12.6.4 · 13.0 — 13.3
apple
tvos
≤ 16.4
apple
watchos
≤ 9.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
degrades

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References