Apple watchOS up to 9.3.1 ImageIO memory corruption

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.1$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple watchOS up to 9.3.1. It has been classified as problematic. Impacted is an unknown function of the component ImageIO. This manipulation causes memory corruption. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2023-23535. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Apple watchOS up to 9.3.1 (Smartwatch Operating System) and classified as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown code block of the component ImageIO. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality.

The weakness was presented 03/27/2023 by ryuzaki as HT213678 as confirmed advisory (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-23535. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The advisory points out:

Processing a maliciously crafted image may result in disclosure of process memory

Upgrading to version 9.4 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 memory handling.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2023-27635). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.1

VulDB Base Score: 4.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory corruption
CWE: CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

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

Upgrade: watchOS 9.4

Timelineinfo

01/12/2023 🔍
03/27/2023 +73 days 🔍
03/27/2023 +0 days 🔍
03/29/2023 +2 days 🔍
10/13/2025 +928 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: HT213678
Researcher: ryuzaki
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-23535 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-23535
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-224383
EUVD: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 03/29/2023 14:47
Updated: 10/13/2025 00:20
Changes: 03/29/2023 14:47 (6), 03/29/2023 14:48 (13), 03/29/2023 14:51 (27), 04/19/2023 09:29 (1), 10/13/2025 00:20 (16)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!