Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-28204 is an Apple web-content vulnerability that can expose sensitive information when a user processes malicious web content. Apple fixed it across iOS, iPadOS, macOS Ventura, Safari, tvOS, and watchOS releases. Treat it as urgent because Apple reported possible active exploitation and CISA lists it in KEV.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation promptly despite the medium CVSS score. Active-exploitation evidence and sensitive-information exposure make this higher business urgency for Apple fleets, especially devices used by leadership, administrators, or sensitive business teams.
Technical view
This is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read addressed by improved input validation. The CVSS 3.1 vector is network-reachable, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, with high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Apple devices or Safari installations older than iOS/iPadOS 16.5, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.4, Safari 16.5, tvOS 16.5, or watchOS 9.5.
Exploitation context
Apple states it is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited, and CISA KEV lists the CVE. The provided sources do not describe exploit scope, targets, or exploitation method.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports confidentiality-only impact through processing web content, with user interaction required. The bundle does not provide root cause detail beyond out-of-bounds read and improved input validation, nor enough information to validate exploitation without version and advisory checks.
Mitigation direction
- Update affected Apple platforms to the fixed versions or later.
- Prioritize user-facing, executive, and high-risk mobile devices.
- Use MDM or endpoint tooling to enforce current OS and Safari versions.
- Review Apple and Gentoo advisories for environment-specific package guidance.
- Check vendor guidance for unsupported devices instead of assuming a workaround.
Validation and detection
- Inventory iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Safari, tvOS, and watchOS versions.
- Confirm versions meet or exceed Apple’s fixed releases.
- Verify vulnerability scanner or MDM findings are cleared after updates.
- Review CISA KEV tracking for remediation governance.
- Document exceptions for devices that cannot receive fixes.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-28204 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213758CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213762CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213764CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213765CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213757CVE reference
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213761CVE reference
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202401-04CVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-28204CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.