CVE-2026-65331 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 08/18/2026
This issue was addressed through improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.10 and iPadOS 18.7.10, iOS 26.6.1 and iPadOS 26.6.1, macOS Tahoe 26.6.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected Safari crash.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/18/2026
The vulnerability described involves a flaw in the state management logic within Apple's WebKit rendering engine, which powers the Safari browser across iOS and macOS platforms. This issue was resolved through improved handling of internal states during the processing of web content. The core technical deficiency lies in how the application manages memory or execution contexts when encountering specifically crafted malicious inputs. When a user navigates to a webpage containing this malformed content, the state machine governing the rendering process fails to transition correctly or validate input boundaries appropriately. This mismanagement leads to an invalid operation within the browser's engine, resulting in a crash of the Safari application rather than a graceful error handling mechanism.
From a technical perspective, this type of flaw is often categorized under CWE-20 Improper Input Validation or CWE-754: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions. The attacker crafts web content that triggers an edge case in the state machine where expected conditions are not met, causing the application to enter an undefined state. This lack of robust error handling and boundary checking allows malicious actors to disrupt service availability by forcing the browser process to terminate unexpectedly. While the primary impact observed is a denial of service through application crash, such memory or state corruption issues can sometimes serve as precursors to more severe exploits if they involve heap manipulation or use-after-free conditions that are not fully mitigated in subsequent patches.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered on availability and user experience. For end-users, encountering a maliciously crafted website results in the sudden closure of their browser tab or the entire Safari application. This disruption can lead to data loss if unsaved work was present in other tabs that are also closed during the crash sequence. Furthermore, repeated crashes may degrade trust in the platform's stability and security posture. For enterprise environments relying on iOS and iPadOS devices for business operations, such instability can interrupt workflows dependent on web-based applications or internal portals accessed via Safari.
Apple has addressed this issue by enhancing the state management protocols within WebKit to ensure that malformed inputs are detected and handled safely without causing system-level failures. The fix is included in specific updates across multiple operating systems: iOS 18.7.10, iPadOS 18.7.10, macOS Tahoe 26.6.2, as well as the beta versions iOS 26.6.1 and iPadOS 26.6.1. Users are strongly advised to update their devices immediately to mitigate this risk. Keeping software up-to-date is critical for maintaining a secure posture against web-based attacks that exploit rendering engine vulnerabilities.
In terms of threat intelligence, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1498: Network Denial of Service, specifically through resource exhaustion or application crash mechanisms facilitated by client-side code execution. Although the immediate effect is a local denial of service via browser crash, such flaws are often part of broader exploit chains aimed at achieving arbitrary code execution if other memory safety issues exist in adjacent components. Security administrators should monitor for updates to WebKit and Safari across all supported Apple platforms. Additionally, implementing content security policies and restricting access to untrusted web sources can provide an additional layer of defense against similar state-based exploitation attempts until patches are fully deployed across the organization's device fleet.