# CVE-2023-41981: Security feature bypass in iOS and iPadOS

> Attackers with kernel code execution can bypass kernel memory mitigations in Apple operating systems, requiring an OS upgrade to fix.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5f2c-86wv-pg43

## What is CVE-2023-41981?

CVE-2023-41981 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 26 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.6, tvOS 17, iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7, watchOS 10, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14. An attacker that has already achieved kernel code execution may be able to bypass kernel memory mitigations.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-41981?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Macos, Apple Tvos, Apple Watchos.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-41981?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-41981 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-41981 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-41981 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados

- [CVE-2025-43300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-43300/): Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24201/): Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24085/): Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31200](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31200/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31201/): Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-41981 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-41981 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 26 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-41981 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Ipados. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41981/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41981/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41981
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41981
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-41981

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-41981/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.