VulnerabilityPublished 11 May 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-28969: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Use After Free

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 27 : patch Apple iOS and iPadOS soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 12:04 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CISA-ADP	CVSS 3.1	7.5

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 44% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 27, 26.5, 18.7.9 +4

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <27	Fixed in 27
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <26.5	Fixed in 26.5
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <18.7.9	Fixed in 18.7.9
ApplemacOS	Affected <27	Fixed in 27
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.7	Fixed in 26.7
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.5	Fixed in 26.5

AI-suggested

Apple has released official fixes for this vulnerability in iOS 18.7.9, iPadOS 18.7.9, and other Apple operating systems. Users and administrators should apply these updates promptly to remediate the issue. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory indicating the issue is fixed in these versions.

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, iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 26.5, tvOS 27, visionOS 26.5, visionOS 27, watchOS 26.5, watchOS 27. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.

Impact

An attacker controlling a malicious app could cause the affected Apple devices to unexpectedly terminate system processes, potentially leading to denial of service or disruption of normal device operation. The confidentiality impact is rated high, indicating potential exposure of sensitive information, but integrity and availability impacts are not indicated.

Summary

This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in Apple iOS and iPadOS, which could be triggered by a malicious app to cause unexpected system termination (crash). Apple fixed the issue by improving memory management in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, as well as in other related Apple OS versions. The CVSS vector indicates the vulnerability is remotely exploitable without privileges or user interaction, with high confidentiality impact but no integrity or availability impact.

CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 May 2026, 10:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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