CVE-2023-41990

Exp

The issue was addressed with improved handling of caches. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.3, iOS 16.3 and iPadOS 16.3, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, macOS Ventura 13.2, watchOS 9.3. Processing a font file may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

Published: 2023-09-12 Last update: 2025-10-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-41990 is rated Critical Active Threat (86.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.69%). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2024-01-08) affecting Apple / Multiple Products. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2023-41990

Name: Apple Multiple Products Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2024-01-08

Action due: 2024-01-29

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-41990

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-03-25 2.76% 2.69% -0.07%
2 2026-03-21 2.69% 2.76% +0.07%
3 2026-01-29 — 2.69% —

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-41990

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-41990

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-41990

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apple ipados < 15.7.8 cpe:2.3:o:apple:ipados:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple ipados >= 16.0, < 16.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:ipados:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple iphone_os < 15.7.8 cpe:2.3:o:apple:iphone_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple iphone_os >= 16.0, < 16.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:iphone_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple macos < 11.7.9 cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple macos >= 12.0.0, < 12.6.8 cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple macos >= 13.0, < 13.2 cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple tvos < 16.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:tvos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple watchos < 9.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:watchos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-41990

cvelogic Threat Intelligence