CVE-2023-41974: Apple iOS and iPadOS Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Is it exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 5 Mar 2026, 785 days after the CVE record was published.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

2%

EPSS score, percentile 80.2 of all scored records

How severe?

7.8 High

CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record

What should I do?

CISA deadline 26 Mar 2026. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• before 17
• before 15.8.7

Versions by product

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

CISA due date for this action: 26 March 2026.

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Linked from CISA's catalog entry

• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213938
• https://support.apple.com/kb/HT213938
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41974

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

Apple iOS and iPadOS contain a use-after-free vulnerability. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.

• CISA added CVE-2023-41974 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 5 Mar 2026.
• CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
• The due date CISA sets for the required action is 26 Mar 2026.
• The CVE record was published on 10 Jan 2024, 785 days before it was added to KEV.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2% (percentile 80.2), as of 28 Oct 2026.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, iOS 15.8.7 and iPadOS 15.8.7. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Weakness

• CWE-416: Use After Free

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.

Timeline

References

• support.apple.com
• support.apple.com

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