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Apple iOS CVE-2026-43814

| EUVDEUVD-2026-49553 CRITICAL
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2026-07-27 apple GHSA-82wv-p6cm-6c52
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: apple
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Install malicious app on device
  2. Exploit
    Invoke vulnerable system API
  3. Execution
    Trigger use-after-free (CWE-416)
  4. Impact
    Cause unexpected system termination

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires the attacker to get code running as an app on the target device (local execution) running iOS/iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, or watchOS below version 26.6. There is no remote attack surface described - 'an app may be able to cause unexpected system termination' implies a locally installed/executed application. Limiting factors: victim must install or run the malicious app (App Store review, sandboxing, and notarization raise the bar), the target must be on an unpatched pre-26.6 OS, and the demonstrated impact is only a crash/reboot (availability), not data disclosure, modification, or code execution.

Impact

Signals conflict sharply. The published CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/C:H/I:H/A:H, score 9.8) claims a remote, unauthenticated, full-triad compromise - but Apple's own description ('An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination') describes a locally-installed malicious app producing a crash, i.e. availability-only DoS with no confidentiality or integrity impact. The 9.8 is therefore grossly overstated: the realistic vector is local (AV:L) with A:H only. Corroborating this, EPSS is very low (0.16%, 6th percentile), CISA SSVC records Exploitation: none, and there is no KEV listing and no public exploit - 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' SSVC's 'Automatable: yes / Technical Impact: total' is consistent with a reliably triggerable crash rather than remote code execution. Net: despite the 9.8 headline, this is a low-real-risk local DoS on patched-in-26.6 Apple platforms, not a network-exploitable emergency. Verify impact scope with Apple - the CVSS confidentiality/integrity metrics are not supported by the description.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A user installs or is tricked into running a malicious or buggy app on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch running an OS older than 26.6. The app triggers a use-after-free in a system component, causing unexpected system termination (a crash/reboot). No public exploit code exists and there is no evidence of active exploitation.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 16, 2026

Use-after-free memory corruption in Apple's core operating-system platforms - iOS/iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, and watchOS before version 26.6 - allows a locally installed and executed application to crash or unexpectedly terminate the system. Exploitation requires the victim to run attacker-supplied code as an app on an unpatched device; there is no remote attack surface, and the demonstrable impact is availability only (system termination/reboot), with no data disclosure, modification, or code execution established - meaning the publicly circulated CVSS 9.8 network vector materially overstates the real reachability and impact of this bug. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS is low at 0.16% (6th percentile), CISA SSVC records Exploitation: none with total technical impact if reached, and Apple has shipped fixes in 26.6 across all four platforms.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, tvOS 26.6, and watchOS 26.6 - apply these updates on every affected device; the four Apple advisories at https://support.apple.com/en-us/128066, https://support.apple.com/en-us/128067, https://support.apple.com/en-us/128068, and https://support.apple.com/en-us/128069 give the per-platform details. There is no meaningful server-side workaround because the flaw is triggered by locally executing application code, so compensating controls must narrow the app-execution surface until updates are deployed: enforce managed/allow-listed app installation via MDM and configuration profiles (trade-off: legitimate third-party apps outside the catalogue become unavailable), keep App Store review and notarization requirements enforced and disable sideloading/developer-mode on managed fleets where policy permits (trade-off: impedes internal development and Enterprise-signed distribution), and, on macOS, restrict non-notarized binary execution with Gatekeeper and hardened-runtime policies (trade-off: may break legacy in-house tooling unless individually allow-listed). Rapid update enforcement is the only control that removes the defect itself; the mitigations above merely reduce the likelihood that a hostile app reaches the vulnerable code path.

Affected VersionsENISA

tvOS 0 <26.6
macOS 0 <26.6
iOS and iPadOS 0 <26.6
watchOS 0 <26.6

Affected Packages

euvd ios_and_ipados fix: 26.6
euvd macos fix: 26.6
euvd tvos fix: 26.6
euvd watchos fix: 26.6

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 4 packages in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The root cause is CWE-416, use after free, a memory-safety defect class in which an object is released and its memory reclaimed while a dangling pointer to it is still dereferenced - typically leading to memory corruption, type confusion, or an immediate fault. Apple's advisory language, "addressed with improved memory management," indicates the fix hardens object lifetime handling (retain/release or reference-counting semantics) in a shared framework rather than adding an input filter. Because iOS/iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, and watchOS are built on the common Darwin/XNU foundation and share large portions of their user-space frameworks, the same defect manifests across all four products; the CPE data enumerates exactly these platforms with wildcard version ranges (cpe:2.3:a:apple:ios_and_ipados, apple:macos, apple:tvos, apple:watchos, all version ranges ending at 26.6). Notably, the initial published CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H is inconsistent with the vendor description of an app-triggered crash; the independent assessment re-scores this as AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, i.e. a local, unauthenticated (no privileges required), no-user-interaction availability-only issue. Under that assessment the defect is a sandboxed denial-of-service primitive, not a remote code-execution vector, and the impact ceiling is a process or system crash.

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Severity by source

Vendor (apple) PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 6.2 MEDIUM

A locally running app triggers the flaw (AV:L, PR:N/UI:N as any app suffices); impact is only unexpected termination so A:H with C:N/I:N.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (apple).

CVSS VectorVendor: apple

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Jul 28, 2026 - 15:22 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Jul 27, 2026 - 21:17 EUVD
CVE Published
Jul 27, 2026 - 20:13 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Jul 27, 2026 - 20:13 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionCVE.org

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, tvOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Apple device fleets running iOS/iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, and watchOS below version 26.6 are exposed to a memory-corruption flaw that can crash or unexpectedly restart a device, but only when an attacker-supplied application is already installed and executed locally. The practical exposure is therefore limited to availability on devices where users can install untrusted apps, and no data disclosure, modification, or code execution has been demonstrated; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and the headline CVSS 9.8 network rating materially overstates the real reachability of this bug. Leadership should treat this as a routine, well-understood patching obligation rather than an emergency, while confirming that application-install controls on managed devices remain effective.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 94% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Apple iOS/iPadOS/macOS/tvOS/watchOS run on billions of consumer devices
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
Medium
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

49
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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