CVE-2026-112615 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 27.2, iOS 26.7.2 and iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2, watchOS 27.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process termination.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2026
The vulnerability described is a classic use-after-free error, which falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-416. This type of memory corruption flaw occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after it has been freed or deallocated from memory. In the context of web browsers like Safari and its underlying engine WebKit, this typically involves JavaScript objects or DOM elements that are referenced by script code but have already been removed from the active document tree or garbage collected. When the application attempts to access these stale pointers, it reads from invalid or reused memory locations, leading to unpredictable behavior. The root cause often lies in complex event handling logic where references to page elements are not properly invalidated when those elements are dynamically modified or removed by malicious scripts designed to exploit race conditions or timing discrepancies in memory management routines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered around denial of service through unexpected process termination, as noted in the description. While use-after-free vulnerabilities can sometimes be leveraged for arbitrary code execution if an attacker can carefully control the contents of the freed memory region and achieve precise heap layout manipulation, Apple has classified this specific instance as leading to a crash or termination. This suggests that either the exploitability is limited by mitigations such as pointer authentication on ARM-based devices like those in iOS and macOS, or the specific code path triggered results in an immediate fault rather than allowing for controlled memory overwrite. Nevertheless, even a denial of service impact is significant because it allows remote attackers to disrupt user sessions simply by hosting malicious web content that triggers this condition when visited.
From a threat intelligence perspective, this vulnerability aligns with MITRE ATT&CK techniques related to initial access and execution via browser-based attacks. Attackers often distribute such exploits through phishing campaigns or compromised websites where users are lured into visiting specific pages containing crafted JavaScript payloads. The attack chain typically involves the victim loading the malicious page, which triggers the use-after-free condition within the WebKit engine, resulting in a crash of the Safari process or potentially affecting other processes if sandboxing boundaries are breached. Although modern browser sandboxes isolate rendering engines to limit lateral movement, crashes can still be used for denial-of-service attacks against specific applications or as part of a broader campaign to destabilize user environments.
Mitigation strategies focus heavily on timely patch management and defense-in-depth measures. The primary remediation is the immediate application of the provided software updates across all affected platforms including Safari 27.2, iOS 26.7.2, iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, tvOS 27.2, visionOS 27.2, and watchOS 27.2. These updates contain the improved memory management logic that prevents the dangling pointer from being accessed after deallocation. For organizations managing large fleets of devices, automated patch deployment systems should be utilized to ensure rapid rollout. Additionally, users can mitigate risk by keeping browser security settings strict, such as enabling features like Content Security Policy where applicable and avoiding interaction with untrusted web content. While no user-side configuration fully prevents exploitation of memory corruption bugs in rendering engines, maintaining up-to-date software remains the most effective defense against known vulnerabilities of this nature.