Apple has released security updates that fix a WebKit zero-day vulnerability that “May have been actively exploited.”
The bug has been fixed in iOS 16.3.1 and iPadOS 16.3.1, macOS Ventura 13.2.1, Safari 16.3.1, and possibly also in tvOS 16.3.2 and watchOS 9.3.1 – though release notes for the updates for those Internet of Things operating systems have been temporarily witheld.
An anonymous researcher has been credited with reporting it, but since the update release notes acknowledge The Citizen Lab at The University of Toronto’s Munk School for their assistance, it’s possible that the vulnerability is being exploited to spy on users.
Users running macOS Ventura also get a patch for CVE-2023-23529 with the OS security update, while those who still use macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey can close the hole by updating Safari to version 16.3.1.
The iOS and iPadOS update also contains a fix for CVE-2023-23514, a use after free issue in the kernel, which could allow a malicious app to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
The macOS update patches it along with a privacy issue in the Shortcuts component.
