Executive brief
Apple's Accelerate Framework is a foundational software library used by applications on iPhones, iPads, and Macs to perform complex mathematical and image processing operations. A flaw in the framework allows an attacker to process a specially crafted image that could crash the application or corrupt critical system memory, potentially leading to system instability or unexpected shutdowns.
Technical details
This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write flaw in Apple's Accelerate Framework, which lacks proper bounds checking when processing maliciously crafted images. The vulnerability is triggered when an application processes a specially constructed image file, allowing write access beyond allocated memory boundaries. An attacker would need to craft a malicious image file and trick an application into processing it; this could be delivered via email, web download, or other file-sharing mechanisms. Successful exploitation can result in unexpected process termination or corruption of kernel memory. Apple addressed this issue by implementing improved bounds checking; fixes are available in iOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 26.7, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27.
Affected products
- Apple iOS before 26.7 and before 27
- Apple iPadOS before 26.7 and before 27
- Apple macOS Golden Gate before 27
- Apple macOS Sequoia before 15.8
- Apple macOS Tahoe before 26.7
- Apple tvOS before 27
- Apple visionOS before 27
- Apple watchOS before 27
Timeline
- 2026-09-14: disclosed
- 2026-09-14: patched: Fixed in iOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 26.7, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27