Apple iOS/iPadOS up to 16.3.1 Apple Neural Engine out-of-bounds write

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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CTI Interest Score
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7.6$5k-$25k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Apple iOS and iPadOS up to 16.3.1. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component Apple Neural Engine. Such manipulation leads to out-of-bounds write. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2023-27970. The attack can only be performed from a local environment. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple iOS and iPadOS up to 16.3.1 (Smartphone Operating System) and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is an unknown functionality of the component Apple Neural Engine. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds write vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-787. The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

The weakness was published 03/27/2023 by Mohamed Ghannam as HT213676 as confirmed advisory (Website). The advisory is available at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2023-27970. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/30/2025). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product increasing in the near future. The advisory points out:

An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges

Upgrading to version 16.4 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability. The advisory contains the following remark:

An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-31696). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

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Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.6

VulDB Base Score: 7.8
VulDB Temp Score: 7.5
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Out-of-bounds write
CWE: CWE-787 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Upgrade: iOS/iPadOS 16.4

Timelineinfo

03/08/2023 🔍
03/27/2023 +18 days 🔍
03/27/2023 +0 days 🔍
03/29/2023 +2 days 🔍
11/30/2025 +977 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: HT213676
Researcher: Mohamed Ghannam
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-27970 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-27970
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-224330
EUVD: 🔍
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20150917

Entryinfo

Created: 03/29/2023 09:47
Updated: 11/30/2025 09:03
Changes: 03/29/2023 09:47 (19), 03/29/2023 09:50 (28), 04/16/2023 17:48 (1), 12/12/2024 19:39 (26), 11/30/2025 09:03 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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