CVE-2023-23532

Local sandbox escape through undisclosed Neural Engine checks

Published May 8, 2023 · Updated Jan 29, 2025

Sandbox escape in Apple Neural Engine in affected macOS, iOS, and iPadOS releases allows local users to bypass app isolation. Apple identifies improved checks in Apple Neural Engine but has not disclosed which check accepts untrusted app input or how it fails. A low-privilege app must run locally; exploitation crosses its sandbox boundary on macOS before 13.3, mobile releases before 16.4, and the 15.x line through 15.7.5.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Sandbox escape in Apple Neural Engine in affected macOS, iOS, and iPadOS releases allows local users to bypass app isolation. Apple identifies improved checks in Apple Neural Engine but has not disclosed which check accepts untrusted app input or how it fails. A low-privilege app must run locally; exploitation crosses its sandbox boundary on macOS before 13.3, mobile releases before 16.4, and the 15.x line through 15.7.5.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-23532
Published
May 8, 2023
Updated
Jan 29, 2025
Vendor
Apple
Product
iOS and iPadOS
Classifications
T1404, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 8, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 29, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <15.7
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <16.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · iOS and iPadOSversion=unspecified <15.7; version=unspecified <16.4
Apple · macOSversion=unspecified <13.3

Published CVSS scores

8.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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