# CVE-2023-42824: Apple iOS and iPadOS Kernel Privilege Escalation

> A local attacker can elevate privileges on iOS and iPadOS devices, with evidence of active exploitation in the wild.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 5 Oct 2023 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 4 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3rg4-6v45-69gj

## What is CVE-2023-42824?

CVE-2023-42824 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 4 Oct 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 checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.7.1 and iPadOS 16.7.1. A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.6.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-42824?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-42824?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-42824 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 26 Oct 2023.

## Is CVE-2023-42824 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-42824 in the wild since at least 5 Oct 2023.

Public exploit code:

- cow bypass  (github_poc): https://github.com/619555798/cve-2023-42824

## 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-2023-42824 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-42824 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 4 Oct 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2023-42824 in the wild since at least 5 Oct 2023.

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-2023-42824/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42824/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42824
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-42824
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-42824

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42824/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.