Apple iOS/iPadOS up to 16.3.1 NetworkExtension improper authentication

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Apple iOS and iPadOS up to 16.3.1. The affected element is an unknown function of the component NetworkExtension. The manipulation leads to improper authentication. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2023-28182. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit 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). It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects an unknown functionality of the component NetworkExtension. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a improper authentication vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-287. When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. Impacted is confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

The issue was addressed with improved authentication. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.3, iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, iOS 15.7.4 and iPadOS 15.7.4, macOS Monterey 12.6.4, macOS Big Sur 11.7.5. A user in a privileged network position may be able to spoof a VPN server that is configured with EAP-only authentication on a device.

The weakness was released 03/27/2023 by Zhuowei Zhang as HT213676 as confirmed advisory (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at support.apple.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2023-28182. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 12/02/2025). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product increasing in the near future. The advisory points out:

A user in a privileged network position may be able to spoof a VPN server that is configured with EAP-only authentication on a device

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:

The issue was addressed with improved authentication.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-31890). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Smartphone Operating System

Vendor

• Apple

Name

• iOS
• iPadOS

Version

• 16.3.0
• 16.3.1

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion