Home/CVE/Apple Multiple Products WebKit Use-After-Free Vulnerability
CVE

CVE-2023-28205

Apple Multiple Products WebKit Use-After-Free Vulnerability

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.4.1, iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1, macOS Ventura 13.3.1. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

HIGH · CVSS 8.8 ⚠ CISA KEV EPSS 0.00074
Act now
  • Listed on CISA KEV (known exploited in the wild)
  • SSVC exploitation status: active
  • Public exploit or PoC is available
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Sigma rules8 YARA rules0
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
NVDCVE.orgCISAVulnersExploit-DBGitHub PoCVulnCheck KEVGreyNoise
▸ How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2023-28205, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).
⬢

Required Remediation

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

◆

ATT&CK techniques

2

Techniques this CVE enables - linked via CWECAPECATT&CK. High◆ = named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei templates.

T1203 · Exploitation for Client Execution T1566 · Phishing
▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques
⬡

Weakness Classification

CWE-416Use After Free
CWE-416Use After Free
▤

Affected Products & Versions

6
apple safari< 16.4.1
apple ipados< 15.7.5
apple ipados>= 16.0 and < 16.4.1
apple iphone os< 15.7.5
apple iphone os>= 16.0 and < 16.4.1
apple macos< 13.3.1
▤

Affected Packages

17
Language-ecosystem packages (from OSV) tied to this CVE, with the version that fixes it - the dependency-level detail NVD doesn’t carry.
Debian:11 webkit2gtk fixed in 2.40.1-1~deb11u1
Debian:11 wpewebkit fixed in 2.38.6-1~deb11u1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS qtwebkit-opensource-src
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS webkit2gtk fixed in 2.38.6-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS wpewebkit
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS qtwebkit-opensource-src
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS webkit2gtk fixed in 2.38.6-0ubuntu0.22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS wpewebkit
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS qtwebkit-opensource-src
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS qtwebkit-opensource-src
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS qtwebkit-source
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS webkit2gtk
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS webkitgtk
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS qtwebkit-opensource-src
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS qtwebkit-source
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS webkit2gtk
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS webkitgtk
⚠

Public Exploits & PoCs

10
These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted.
pocntfargo/uaf-2023-28205 (nomi-sec)
pocseregonwar/uaf-2023-28205 (nomi-sec)
pocOstorlab/KEV (trickest)
pocOstorlab/known_exploited_vulnerbilities_detectors (trickest)
pocRENANZG/My-Forensics (trickest)
pocgmh5225/vulnjs (trickest)
pocjake-44/Research (trickest)
pockarimhabush/cyberowl (trickest)
pocrafsys/My-Forensics (trickest)
pocwh1ant/vulnjs (trickest)
📦

Fixed versions by distribution

42
The package version that resolves this CVE on each Linux distribution, from the vendor’s published security data. fixed in shows a patched version exists; open means the package is listed as affected with no fix yet.
oracle allwebkit2gtk3 fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
oracle allwebkit2gtk3-devel fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
oracle allwebkit2gtk3-jsc fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
oracle allwebkit2gtk3-jsc-devel open
rhel 8webkit2gtk3 fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
rhel 8webkit2gtk3-devel fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
rhel 8webkit2gtk3-jsc fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
rhel 8webkit2gtk3-jsc-devel open
rhel 9webkit2gtk3 fixed in 0:2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
rhel 9webkit2gtk3-devel open
rhel 9webkit2gtk3-jsc open
rhel 9webkit2gtk3-jsc-devel open
suse sle15WebKitGTK-4.0-lang fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15WebKitGTK-4.1-lang fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15WebKitGTK-6.0-lang fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15libjavascriptcoregtk-4_0-18 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150000.3.139.1
suse sle15libjavascriptcoregtk-4_1-0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15libjavascriptcoregtk-5_0-0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15libjavascriptcoregtk-6_0-1 fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15libwebkit2gtk-4_0-37 fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15libwebkit2gtk-4_1-0 fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15libwebkit2gtk-5_0-0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15libwebkit2gtk3-lang fixed in 0:2.38.6-150200.72.1
suse sle15libwebkitgtk-6_0-4 fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15typelib-1_0-JavaScriptCore-4_0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150200.72.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-JavaScriptCore-4_1 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-JavaScriptCore-5_0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-JavaScriptCore-6_0 fixed in 0:2.48.1-150600.12.36.5
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit-6_0 fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.36
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit2-4_0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit2-4_1 fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.35
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit2-5_0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit2WebExtension-4_0 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKit2WebExtension-4_1 fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15typelib-1_0-WebKitWebProcessExtension-6_0 fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.36
suse sle15webkit2gtk-4_0-injected-bundles fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.35
suse sle15webkit2gtk-4_1-injected-bundles fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.35
suse sle15webkit2gtk-5_0-injected-bundles fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15webkit2gtk3-devel fixed in 0:2.38.6-150000.3.139.1
suse sle15webkit2gtk3-soup2-devel fixed in 0:2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
suse sle15webkit2gtk4-devel fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.36
suse sle15webkitgtk-6_0-injected-bundles fixed in 0:2.42.5-150600.10.36
◈

Sigma Hunt Rules

8
Exact rules name this CVE ID. Product rules name an affected product in their title. Related rules cover techniques used by actors who exploited this CVE. Showing the most relevant matches; the complete related set is on the full drill-down.
producthighSuspicious Microsoft Office Child Process - MacOS
producthighRemote Access Tool - Renamed MeshAgent Execution - MacOS
producthighBinary Padding - MacOS
productmediumSuspicious Execution via macOS Script Editor
productmediumSystem Information Discovery Via Sysctl - MacOS
productmediumNew File Exclusion Added To Time Machine Via Tmutil - MacOS
▣

Scoring & Timeline

8.8
HIGH · CVSS v3.1 · [email protected]
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD10 Apr 2023 · 07:15 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SSVC triage · cisa-vulnrichment
Exploitation
active
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
SSVC asks the questions that actually drive patch urgency: is it being exploited, can attacks be automated, and how total is the impact.
⚑

Vendor Advisories

11
rhsaRHSA-2025:10364Important
rhsaRHSA-2023:3108Important
rhsaRHSA-2023:2653Important
usnUSN-6061-1
suse-csafSUSE-SU-2023:2077-1
🔗

References & Sources

5
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213720Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213721Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213722Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213723Release Notes
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-28205US Government Resource
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