MEDIUM CVSS 5.5
Published: 2023-07-27

CVE-2023-38606

apple ipados Security Advisory (CVE-2023-38606)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
Technical Writeup & Proof-of-Concept Exploit Dossier
🔬 Deep Technical Breakdown ⚡ Verified PoC Available

Operation Triangulation: Apple iOS Kernel Zero-Day & Hardware MMIO Backdoor

Author: Boris Larin & Igor Kuznetsov • Source: Kaspersky GReAT

CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2023-38606 impacting apple ipados. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6. An app may be able to modify sensitive kernel state. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
None (PR:N)
Unauthenticated execution
User Interaction
Required (UI:R)
User must click or open resource
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
None (C:N)
No data confidentiality impact
Integrity
High (I:H)
Total modification of target system
Availability
None (A:N)
No system availability impact

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product apple / ipados
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration NVD-CWE-noinfo

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2023-38606 impacting apple ipados.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2023-38606.yaml
id: cve-2023-38606

info:
  name: apple ipados - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2023-38606 affecting apple ipados.
    Evaluation: This issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6.8, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, iOS 16.6 and iPad...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2023-38606
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
    cvss-score: 5.5
    cve-id: CVE-2023-38606
    cwe-id: NVD-CWE-noinfo
  tags: cve,cve-2023-38606,apple,ipados,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "ipados"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2023-38606.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2023-38606
# Target: apple ipados | CVSS: 5.5 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2023-38606 (apple ipados)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against apple ipados scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2023-38606.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2023-38606
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install ipados 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade ipados 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update ipados

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i ipados 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i ipados

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2023-38606 in apple ipados?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update apple ipados packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2023-38606?

A verified technical Proof of Concept (PoC) writeup is tracked in this dossier above.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2023-38606?

CVE-2023-38606 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
5.5
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2023-38606
Weakness NVD-CWE-noinfo
Vendor apple
Product ipados
Published 2023-07-27
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N