CVE-2026-43668 - Vulnerability Details

- Use‑After‑Free in Apple Systems Causes Kernel Corruption and System Termination

Description

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.

Published: 2026-05-11

Score: 7.5 High

EPSS: < 1% Very Low

KEV: No

Impact:

Action:

Analysis

Impact

A use‑after‑free flaw in Apple’s memory management can lead to kernel memory corruption or unexpected system termination. The vulnerability is remote in nature, and its exploitation would allow an attacker to corrupt privileged memory, which could be leveraged for privilege escalation or denial of service.

Affected Systems

Apple devices running iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS may be affected. The fix is included in iOS 18.7.9 or 26.5, iPadOS 18.7.9 or 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score is 7.5 and the EPSS score is < 1%. However, the nature of the flaw and its kernel‑level impact imply a high severity. The vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog and no public exploits are known, yet the potential for remote exploitation warrants vigilance and swift remediation.

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

Apple

iOS and iPadOS

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	< 18.7.9
`0`	affected	< 26.5

Apple

macOS

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	< 14.8.7
`0`	affected	< 15.7.7
`0`	affected	< 26.5

Apple

tvOS

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	< 26.5

Apple

visionOS

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	< 26.5

Apple

watchOS

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	< 26.5

No data.

Vendor Product Confidence Versions

Apple

Ios And Ipados

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,18.7.9)`	affected	generic	—
`[0,26.5)`	affected	generic	—

Apple

Macos

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,14.8.7)`	affected	generic	—
`[0,15.7.7)`	affected	generic	—
`[0,26.5)`	affected	generic	—

Apple

Tvos

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,26.5)`	affected	generic	—

Apple

Visionos

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,26.5)`	affected	generic	—

Apple

Watchos

100%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,26.5)`	affected	generic	—

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Apply the latest OS updates that include the fix for the affected products: iOS 18.7.9 or 26.5, iPadOS 18.7.9 or 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5.
If updates are not yet available for a device, follow Apple’s support guidance to disable or limit usage of the features that may trigger the flaw, thereby reducing the attack surface.
Continuously monitor Apple’s security advisories for additional mitigations or patch releases and validate that devices remain updated.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 13, 2026 at 00:07 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Network

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction None

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

The EPSS score is 0.00103.

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact partial

References

Link	Providers
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127110
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127111
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127115
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127116
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127117
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127118
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127119
https://support.apple.com/en-us/127120

History

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:30:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Title		Use‑After‑Free in Apple Systems Causes Kernel Corruption and System Termination

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:15:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Title	Use‑After‑Free Causing Kernel Memory Corruption on Apple OS
Weaknesses	CWE-122

Tue, 12 May 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics		cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}` ssvc `{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}`

Mon, 11 May 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Title		Use‑After‑Free Causing Kernel Memory Corruption on Apple OS
Weaknesses		CWE-122 CWE-416

Mon, 11 May 2026 22:45:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
First Time appeared		Apple Apple ios And Ipados Apple macos Apple tvos Apple visionos Apple watchos
Vendors & Products		Apple Apple ios And Ipados Apple macos Apple tvos Apple visionos Apple watchos

Mon, 11 May 2026 20:45:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.
References		https://support.apple.com/en-us/127110 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127111 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127115 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127116 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127117 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127118 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127119 https://support.apple.com/en-us/127120

Subscriptions

Apple Ios And Ipados Macos Tvos Visionos Watchos

MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apple

Published: 2026-05-11T20:08:40.859Z

Updated: 2026-05-12T18:06:48.480Z

Reserved: 2026-05-01T22:46:21.640Z

Link: CVE-2026-43668

Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-05-12T18:06:41.320Z

NVD

Status : Undergoing Analysis

Published: 2026-05-11T21:19:02.023

Modified: 2026-05-12T18:17:28.087

Link: CVE-2026-43668

Redhat

No data.

OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-13T00:15:27Z

Weaknesses

CWE-416

Impact

Affected Systems

Risk and Exploitability

Tracking

Attack Vector Network

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction None

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact partial

Subscriptions

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