Technical impact
A use‑after‑free flaw in macOS memory handling can cause the operating system to crash when freed memory is accessed. This results in an may classified as CWE‑416, highlighting failure to protect memory after it has been freed.
Affected Systems
All Apple macOS releases before Sequoia 15.7.8, Sonoma 14.8.8, and Tahoe 26.6 are vulnerable. Systems running these or earlier builds, regardless of service tier, lack the patch that secures the freed memory reference and therefore remain at risk.
Risk and Exploitability
The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates moderate severity, while the EPSS score of less than 1% shows a very low current exploit probability. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, and no public exploits are known. Based on the description, it is inferred that the issue could be triggered by executing untrusted code or a manipulated application, either locally or remotely, that forces the freed memory to be accessed. Successful exploitation would lead to a system‑wide denial of service requiring recovery.
