high 8.8

CVE-2023-28205 kev in the critical feed json

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management.

published 2023-04-10 3 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2023-31913

cvss: 8.8; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Exploited; added 2023-04-10
epss: 27.1%; EPSS 27.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 98%
public exploits: 0; none known

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.4.1, iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5, iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1, macOS Ventura 13.3.1. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

fixed in 3 distros 6

Apple iOS and iPadOS 15.7, 16.4
Apple Safari 16.4
Apple macOS 13.3

debian ubuntu red hat suse almalinux rocky linux

wpewebkit Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 2.38.6-1
webkit2gtk Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 2.40.1-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2023-28205

webkit2gtk Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 2.38.6-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
webkit2gtk Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 2.38.6-0ubuntu0.22.04.1

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2023-28205

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

webkit2gtk3 RHEL 8 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
webkit2gtk3-jsc RHEL 8 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
webkit2gtk3 RHEL 9 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
webkit2gtk3-jsc RHEL 9 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
webkitgtk4 RHEL 7 ELS 2.48.3-2.el7_9
webkitgtk4-jsc RHEL 7 ELS 2.48.3-2.el7_9

red hat advisories RHSA-2025:10364 RHSA-2023:1919 RHSA-2023:1918

webkit2gtk3 SLES for SAP 15 SP3, SLES for SAP 15 SP2, SLES 15 SP3-LTSS +10 more 2.38.6-150200.72.1
webkit2gtk3 SLE Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
webkit2gtk4 SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
webkit2gtk3-soup2 SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP4, openSUSE Leap 15.4 2.38.6-150400.4.39.1
webkit2gtk3 SLES for SAP 12 SP5, SLES for SAP 12 SP4, SLES 12 SP5 +6 more 2.38.6-2.136.1
webkit2gtk3 SLES for SAP 15 SP1, SLES 15 SP1-LTSS, SLE High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS 2.38.6-150000.3.139.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2023:2078-1 SUSE-SU-2023:2077-1 SUSE-SU-2023:2065-1 SUSE-SU-2023:2056-1

webkit2gtk3 AlmaLinux 8 2.38.5-1.el8_8.3
webkit2gtk3-jsc AlmaLinux 8 2.38.5-1.el8_8.3
webkit2gtk3 AlmaLinux 9 2.38.5-1.el9_2.1
webkit2gtk3-jsc AlmaLinux 9 2.38.5-1.el9_2.1
webkit2gtk3 AlmaLinux 9 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
webkit2gtk3-jsc AlmaLinux 9 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
webkit2gtk3 AlmaLinux 8 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
webkit2gtk3-jsc AlmaLinux 8 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3

almalinux advisories ALSA-2023:3108 ALSA-2023:2653 ALSA-2023:1918 ALSA-2023:1919

webkit2gtk3 Rocky Linux 9 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
webkit2gtk3 Rocky Linux 8 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2023:1918 RLSA-2023:1919

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2023-28205 updated 2026-11-07 cvss 8.8

WebKitGTK: use-after-free leads to arbitrary code execution

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 webkitgtk
affected: no fix planned “Out of support scope”
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 webkitgtk3, libwebkit2gtk
affected: no fix available
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) webkit2gtk3 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3, webkit2gtk3-jsc 2.36.7-1.el8_7.3
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:1919
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) webkit2gtk3 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3, webkit2gtk3-jsc 2.36.7-1.el9_1.3
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2023:1918
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7 ELS) webkitgtk4 2.48.3-2.el7_9, webkitgtk4-jsc 2.48.3-2.el7_9 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7 ELS) webkitgtk4-doc 2.48.3-2.el7_9, webkitgtk4-devel 2.48.3-2.el7_9, webkitgtk4-debuginfo 2.48.3-2.el7_9, webkitgtk4-jsc-devel 2.48.3-2.el7_9
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:10364

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Timeline

2023-04-07 0-day patched (Project Zero)
2023-04-10 Published
2023-04-10 Added to CISA KEV
2023-05-01 CISA patch deadline
2025-01-28 CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added: 3 y ago (2023-04-10)
Patch by: 2023-05-01 (3 y ago)
Ransomware: Not known
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product: Apple, Multiple Products
CISA name: Apple Multiple Products WebKit Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Zero-day

Detected in real attacks while still unknown to the vendor and the public, per Google Project Zero's 0day In-the-Wild tracker.

Patched: 2023-04-07
Details: project zero tracker

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 21 mo ago (2025-01-28)

Exploit prediction

27.08% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 98% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CISA ADP	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Apple iOS and iPadOS
Apple Safari
Apple macOS

Classification

Weakness

CWE-416 Use After Free

References

support.apple.com /en-us/HT213723
release-notes
support.apple.com /en-us/HT213722
release-notes
support.apple.com /en-us/HT213721
release-notes
support.apple.com /en-us/HT213720
release-notes
cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-28205
government-resource, us-government-resource

Sources

CVE List CVE-2023-28205
NVD CVE-2023-28205

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary