Local privilege escalation via undisclosed kernel checks
Published Sep 21, 2023 · Updated Nov 4, 2025
Kernel privilege escalation in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 16.7 and macOS before 12.7 or 13.6 allows local users to gain elevated privileges. Apple has not disclosed which kernel check mishandles attacker-controlled state, stating only that improved checks addressed the issue. Local low-privileged code execution is required, and reported in-the-wild exploitation is limited to iOS before 16.7.
Summary
What happened
Kernel privilege escalation in Apple iOS and iPadOS before 16.7 and macOS before 12.7 or 13.6 allows local users to gain elevated privileges. Apple has not disclosed which kernel check mishandles attacker-controlled state, stating only that improved checks addressed the issue. Local low-privileged code execution is required, and reported in-the-wild exploitation is limited to iOS before 16.7.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-41992
- Published
- Sep 21, 2023
- Updated
- Nov 4, 2025
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- iOS and iPadOS
- Classifications
- CWE-754, T1068, T1404
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 21, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 4, 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.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <16.7
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Reported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities listingknown exploited catalog
- Apple report of active exploitation against iOSreported exploitation
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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