Executive brief
Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS) contain a race condition vulnerability in their core state handling mechanisms. An app can exploit this flaw to trigger unexpected system termination, causing device crashes or service interruptions. The vulnerability affects multiple Apple platforms and was addressed through improved state management in recent OS updates released in September 2026.
Technical details
A race condition exists in Apple OS kernel state handling that can be triggered by a malicious or buggy application running on the local system. The vulnerability stems from improper synchronization of state transitions, allowing concurrent access to shared resources without adequate locking. An app with normal user privileges can exploit this by performing specific operations that race against internal kernel state updates, resulting in unexpected process or system termination. The race condition was patched through improved state management and synchronization logic 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: CVE-2026-84492 published
- 2026-09-14: patched: Patches released in iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27