Known exploited vulnerability
CVE-2023-41974
The short answer
CVE-2023-41974 affects Apple iOS and iPadOS and is rated high (CVSS 7.8). CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-03-05: attackers are using it, so patch it first.
What it is
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.
Weakness: CWE-416.
Severity
7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploited (CISA KEV)
Yes, since Mar 5, 2026
Federal due date Mar 26, 2026
EPSS, next 30 days
2.0%
Higher than 80% of scored CVEs
How it can be exploited
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
What CISA says to do
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Affected products
iOS and iPadOS. NVD's record lists the exact affected versions.
References
- support.apple.com/en-us/120949 Release NotesVendor Advisory
- support.apple.com/en-us/126632 Release NotesVendor Advisory
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT213938 Release NotesVendor Advisory
- support.apple.com/kb/HT213938 Release NotesVendor Advisory
- cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/coruna-powerful-ios-exploit-kit ExploitThird Party Advisory
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-41974 US Government Resource
Questions
Is CVE-2023-41974 being exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2023-41974 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-03-05, with a federal remediation due date of 2026-03-26.
How do I fix CVE-2023-41974?
CISA's required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
From NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS and OSV.dev, checked . Status on NVD: Analyzed. The description is NVD's text, quoted as published.
Related
Latest CVEs this week
Critical and High CVEs from the last 7 days, with KEV and EPSS.
Exploited vulnerabilities by vendor
Every vendor in CISA's KEV catalog, with its count.
Apple exploited vulnerabilities
Everything CISA lists as exploited for Apple.
Vulnerability watch
A briefing and a fix pull request when an advisory hits your dependencies.
Know the day a CVE lands in your code
Connect a GitHub repository and ZeusQA checks its dependencies daily, briefs each advisory and opens the fix. Three test runs free, no card.