CVE-2023-42970 Use after free in Safari
Attackers can execute arbitrary code by processing malicious web content in Apple Safari and related operating systems.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-42970?
CVE-2023-42970 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 11 Apr 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma 14, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, Safari 17. Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-42970?
It affects 6 products.
Products include Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Macos, Apple Safari, Apple Tvos, Apple Watchos.
How do I fix CVE-2023-42970?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2023-42970 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-42970 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados
- CVE-2025-43300 Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24201 Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24085 Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free
- CVE-2025-31200 Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption
- CVE-2025-31201 Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2023-42970, GHSA-9v5v-qfv2-66qp, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-42970.