CVE-2026-112653 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, visionOS 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 CWE-416 classification in the Common Weakness Enumeration standard. This type of memory management flaw occurs when software 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 often happens during the processing of complex HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or other web content structures. When an object is no longer needed by the application logic but remains referenced in another part of the code, accessing that reference leads to undefined behavior. The specific issue addressed here involves improved memory management practices within the browser's rendering and scripting engines, ensuring that pointers are properly nullified or managed before their associated memory blocks are returned to the system allocator.
From an operational perspective, processing maliciously crafted web content can trigger this vulnerability when a user visits a specially designed webpage or interacts with embedded media elements. The immediate consequence of exploiting this flaw is typically an unexpected process termination, which manifests as a crash in Safari or related browser processes on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS devices. While the primary impact described is denial of service through application instability, use-after-free vulnerabilities are historically significant because they can often be leveraged for more severe outcomes if combined with other techniques such as heap spraying or specific memory layout manipulation. Attackers may attempt to overwrite freed memory regions with controlled data to achieve arbitrary code execution, although modern browser security mitigations like ASLR and DEP make this significantly harder without additional vulnerabilities in the chain.
The affected platforms include Safari 27.2, iOS 26.7.2, iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, and visionOS 27.2. These versions represent a coordinated update across Apple's ecosystem to patch the underlying WebKit engine flaw. The inclusion of visionOS indicates that this vulnerability also impacts augmented reality devices running similar browser technologies. Users operating these platforms are at risk if they browse untrusted websites or open email attachments containing malicious web content. The threat actor landscape for such vulnerabilities includes both automated botnets seeking to exploit widespread installations and targeted attackers aiming for privilege escalation on mobile or desktop systems.
Mitigation strategies primarily rely on applying the provided software updates immediately upon release. For enterprise environments, IT administrators should ensure that patch management policies are configured to prioritize security fixes related to browser engines due to their high exposure surface area via internet connectivity. Additionally, users can reduce risk by employing content blockers and script injection prevention tools within Safari settings, although these do not replace the need for binary patches. Security awareness training is also recommended to help end-users recognize suspicious links or downloads that might trigger such exploits. From a defensive engineering standpoint, developers should continue to utilize static analysis tools and fuzzing techniques during WebKit development cycles to detect memory management errors before they reach production builds. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of exploitation under Initial Access via Spearphishing Link if delivered through email or Execution via User Interaction for direct browser-based attacks, highlighting the importance of user vigilance alongside technical controls.