CVE-2026-112566 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7.2 and iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2, watchOS 27.2. An attacker in physical proximity may be able to cause a denial-of-service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2026
The vulnerability described involves a null pointer dereference within the operating system core components of Apple devices, specifically affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS versions prior to those listed as fixed. A null pointer dereference occurs when software attempts to access memory through a pointer that has not been initialized or has been explicitly set to NULL, resulting in an invalid memory address reference. In the context of modern operating systems, such errors typically lead to immediate application crashes or system instability because the processor cannot execute instructions against a non-existent memory location. The root cause lies in insufficient validation checks before dereferencing pointers that are expected to point to valid data structures. Without proper safeguards, if an input variable fails to resolve to a legitimate object address due to missing initialization logic or unexpected state transitions, the system defaults to accessing null, triggering a fault exception.
From a technical perspective, this flaw represents a classic memory safety issue often categorized under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference in industry standard classification systems like MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration. The vulnerability allows an attacker who is in physical proximity to trigger the condition by interacting with specific system services or APIs that handle user input or internal state changes. Because the flaw resides within core OS components, it affects multiple platforms simultaneously, indicating a shared codebase issue across Apple's ecosystem. The lack of robust error handling means that instead of gracefully managing the invalid pointer scenario, the operating system encounters an unrecoverable exception. This leads to the termination of the affected process or service, which can cascade into broader system instability depending on the criticality of the component involved.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily a denial-of-service condition rather than arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. Since null pointer dereferences generally result in crashes rather than memory corruption that could be exploited for control flow hijacking, the primary risk to users is service interruption. An attacker with physical access can repeatedly trigger these conditions to cause persistent instability, forcing devices to restart or rendering specific functionalities unusable until a reboot occurs. This poses significant risks in scenarios where device availability is critical, such as in enterprise environments relying on continuous operation of mobile workstations or embedded systems using Apple hardware. The ability to disrupt service through physical proximity lowers the barrier for exploitation compared to remote attacks but still represents a serious reliability concern that undermines trust in system stability.
Mitigation strategies focus heavily on patching and defensive programming practices. For end-users, applying the latest software updates is essential as these have been addressed in iOS 26.7.2, iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2, and watchOS 27.2. These updates include improved validation logic that ensures pointers are verified for validity before being dereferenced, preventing the crash condition from occurring even if invalid data is encountered. For developers integrating similar patterns in custom applications or extensions, it is crucial to implement strict null checks prior to any pointer usage and utilize static analysis tools capable of detecting potential uninitialized variable accesses during the development phase. Additionally, enabling memory protection features such as Pointer Authentication Codes (PAC) on supported Apple Silicon devices can add an extra layer of defense against exploitation attempts by making it harder for attackers to manipulate control flow even if other vulnerabilities exist in adjacent code paths.