CVE-2026-113938 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27.2. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2026
The vulnerability described involves an out-of-bounds read condition within the operating system's core components, specifically resolved through enhanced memory access validation mechanisms. In software engineering and security architecture, an out-of-bounds read occurs when a program attempts to access data at a memory address that lies outside the intended buffer or array boundaries. This type of flaw typically stems from insufficient verification of input parameters before they are used as indices for memory retrieval operations. When such checks are absent or flawed, the application may retrieve sensitive information stored in adjacent memory locations, potentially exposing internal system states, cryptographic keys, or other privileged data to unauthorized processes. The remediation strategy employed here focuses on implementing stricter bounds checking logic to ensure that all memory access requests remain within legally allocated regions, thereby preventing any attempt to read from unallocated or protected memory spaces.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-125, which defines out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. These weaknesses are particularly dangerous because they can lead to information disclosure without necessarily causing immediate system instability in all cases. However, the specific impact noted here involves unexpected system termination, indicating that certain trigger conditions may cause memory corruption or segmentation faults when the invalid read operation interferes with critical system processes. This behavior suggests that while the primary flaw is a read violation, its execution can destabilize the host environment by corrupting stack frames or triggering exception handlers designed to protect kernel integrity. Such instability compromises the availability aspect of the CIA triad, which stands for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, as users may experience abrupt crashes requiring system restarts and potential data loss if unsaved work is involved.
The operational impact extends beyond simple application crashes. In a macOS environment like Golden Gate 27.2, where deep integration between user-space applications and kernel-level services exists, an exploit leveraging this vulnerability could potentially be used to escalate privileges or probe for additional weaknesses in the system's memory management subsystem. Attackers might utilize fuzzing techniques to identify specific input sequences that trigger the out-of-bounds condition repeatedly, aiming to gather enough information about adjacent memory contents to construct a more sophisticated attack chain. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers file and directory discovery, although in this context, it refers more broadly to system state enumeration through crash analysis or side-channel effects resulting from the invalid memory access. The ability of an app to cause unexpected termination highlights the importance of robust error handling and isolation mechanisms within modern operating systems to contain such faults before they propagate to critical subsystems.
Mitigation strategies for this class of vulnerability primarily rely on both developer practices and system-level protections. Developers must enforce strict input validation, ensuring that all array indices and buffer offsets are verified against their respective limits prior to access operations. Utilizing static analysis tools during the software development lifecycle can help identify these patterns early in the coding phase. Furthermore, runtime protection mechanisms such as Address Sanitizers (ASan) or hardware-enforced memory isolation features like Memory Protection Extensions provide additional layers of defense by detecting and terminating processes that attempt illegal memory accesses before they cause broader system damage. For end-users, applying security updates promptly is crucial to ensure these bounds checking improvements are active on their devices. Organizations should also implement application whitelisting policies to restrict which applications can interact with sensitive system resources, thereby reducing the attack surface available for exploiting such vulnerabilities. Regular auditing of third-party software dependencies and enforcing secure coding standards remain essential practices in maintaining a resilient security posture against memory corruption flaws.