Executive brief
Apple's Accelerate Framework is a system library used for high-performance mathematical and image processing operations across iOS, macOS, and related platforms. A flaw in bounds checking allows processing a maliciously crafted image to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to application crashes or system instability. An attacker could exploit this by distributing a specially crafted image file that triggers the vulnerability when processed by any application using this framework.
Technical details
This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the Accelerate Framework's image processing component, caused by insufficient bounds checking. The vulnerability is triggered when the framework processes a maliciously crafted image, allowing an attacker to write data beyond the allocated buffer. Attack preconditions require only that a user or application process the malicious image file; no authentication or special privileges are needed. The flaw can result in unexpected process termination (denial of service) or potentially memory corruption that could be chained into privilege escalation or code execution. The issue was addressed with improved bounds checking and is fixed in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27, all released September 14, 2026.
Affected products
- Apple iOS before 27
- Apple iPadOS 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-2026-84546 disclosed and patches released
- 2026-09-14: patched: Fixed in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, watchOS 27