CVE-2026-28969: 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 iPad

Executive brief

A memory management vulnerability in Apple's operating systems could allow a malicious application to crash the device. This affects a wide range of Apple products including iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. While primarily a stability risk, such flaws can sometimes be used to disrupt operations or facilitate further attacks.

Technical details

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the IOKit component of multiple Apple operating systems. The flaw is rooted in improper memory management during object lifecycle handling. A local attacker, via a malicious application, can trigger this condition to cause a kernel-level crash or unexpected system termination. Apple addressed the issue by improving memory management logic. Affected platforms include iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Tahoe, Sequoia, Sonoma), tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS.

Affected products

• Apple iOS Before 18.7.9, before 26.5
• Apple iPadOS Before 18.7.9, before 26.5
• Apple macOS Sequoia Before 15.7.7
• Apple macOS Sonoma Before 14.8.7
• Apple macOS Tahoe Before 26.5
• Apple tvOS Before 26.5
• Apple visionOS Before 26.5
• Apple watchOS Before 26.5

Timeline

• 2026-05-11: disclosed
• 2026-05-11: patched
• 2026-05-11: advisory

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