Apple macOS Web Contents use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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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.
6.0$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Apple macOS. This affects an unknown part of the component Web Contents Handler. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2023-42970. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Apple macOS (affected version unknown). This affects an unknown functionality of the component Web Contents Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

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.

It is possible to read the advisory at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-42970 since 09/14/2023. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. 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 pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/26/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 240595 (SUSE SLES15 Security Update : webkit2gtk3 (SUSE-SU-2025:02033-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (240595). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.0

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 240595
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES15 Security Update : webkit2gtk3 (SUSE-SU-2025:02033-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

09/14/2023 🔍
04/11/2025 +575 days 🔍
04/11/2025 +0 days 🔍
06/26/2025 +76 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: support.apple.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2023-42970 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2023-42970
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-304515
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20180712

Entryinfo

Created: 04/11/2025 17:15
Updated: 06/26/2025 15:16
Changes: 04/11/2025 17:15 (55), 06/26/2025 15:16 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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