What is CVE-2023-38598?

CVE-2023-38598 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apple iOS And Ipados, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2023-07-28.

How severe is CVE-2023-38598?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2023-38598 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Use After Free in Apple iOS And Ipados

CVE-2023-38598

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 9.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7.9, iOS 15.7.8 and iPadOS 15.7.8, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, tvOS 16.6, iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2023-07-28 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.013 (69.0th percentile), scored 2026-10-03.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 69th percentile — 69.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.013 · newest: 0.013 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple iOS And Ipados — versions unspecified
Apple Ipados
Apple Iphone OS
Apple macOS — versions unspecified
Apple tvOS — versions unspecified
Apple watchOS — versions unspecified

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

Public proof-of-concept exploits

jp-cpe/retrieve-cvss-scores

References

support.apple.com/en-us/HT213846 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213841 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213843 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213842 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213845 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213844 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213848 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/kb/HT213843 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/kb/HT213844 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/kb/HT213841 (Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-38598?: CVE-2023-38598 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apple iOS And Ipados, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2023-07-28.
How severe is CVE-2023-38598?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2023-38598 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.