Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-32434

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 11.0 – 11.7.8

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
23 June 2023
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
23 June 2023
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 0.52 99th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-32434 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 in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

An integer overflow vulnerability addressed through improved input validation affects multiple Apple operating systems, including iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS 15.7.7, iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.8, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, macOS Ventura 13.4.1, watchOS 9.5.2, and watchOS 8.8.1. The flaw carries a CVSS score of 7.8 and is tracked under CWE-190.

A local attacker with the ability to run an app on an affected device can exploit the issue to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The attack requires user interaction to open a malicious application but needs no additional permissions beyond that.

Apple security advisories for the listed updates confirm that the patches resolve the integer overflow and recommend installing the fixed releases. The updates are available via the standard software update mechanisms on each platform.

Apple has stated that the vulnerability may have been actively exploited in the wild against iOS versions prior to 15.7. The associated EPSS score reached a peak of 0.6905 with a current value of 0.5238.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.5.2, macOS Big Sur 11.7.8, iOS 15.7.7 and iPadOS 15.7.7, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, watchOS 8.8.1, iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1. An app…

more

may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.

CWE(s)
CWE-190
KEV Date Added
23 June 2023

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-2021-30663Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2026-28973Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-27937Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-36495Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-28185Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2022-32894Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30807Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2026-28952Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-43818Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2021-31010Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 15.7.7 · 16.0 — 16.5.1
apple
iphone os
≤ 15.7.7 · 16.0 — 16.5.1
apple
macos
11.0 — 11.7.8 · 12.0.0 — 12.6.7 · 13.0 — 13.4.1
apple
watchos
≤ 8.8.1 · 9.0 — 9.5.2

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