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Mallory
High

Kernel use-after-free in Apple operating systems

IdentifiersCVE-2023-35993CWE-416· Use After Free

CVE-2023-35993 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Apple software that was addressed through improved memory management. According to the provided advisory text, successful exploitation may allow an application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The issue affects Apple platforms including macOS Monterey before 12.6.8, macOS Big Sur before 11.7.9, macOS Ventura before 13.5, iOS before 15.7.8 and 16.6, iPadOS before 15.7.8 and 16.6, tvOS before 16.6, and watchOS before 9.6.

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For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation may result in arbitrary code execution in kernel context. This would give the attacker code execution with kernel privileges, enabling full compromise of the affected device, including bypass of normal application isolation boundaries, access to sensitive system data, and the ability to alter kernel-managed state.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting the ability to run untrusted or unnecessary applications on affected devices, enforcing application allowlisting and MDM controls where available, and prioritizing updates on devices exposed to higher-risk app installation scenarios. No vendor-provided workaround is described in the supplied content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the vendor fixes released by Apple. The issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.5, iOS 15.7.8, iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6, iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, and watchOS 9.6. Systems running earlier affected versions should be updated to the corresponding fixed release.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
AppleIpadosoperating_system
AppleIphone Osoperating_system
AppleMacosoperating_system
AppleTvosoperating_system
AppleWatchosoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.