CVE-2026-65337 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 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 flaw likely stems from an improper transition or validation of application states when encountering specifically crafted malicious inputs. Such errors often manifest as race conditions, memory corruption issues, or logic flaws where the software fails to correctly track its current operational mode relative to incoming data streams. By addressing these state management deficiencies, Apple has ensured that Safari can more robustly handle edge cases in web content parsing without entering an invalid or undefined state that would trigger a system-level failure.
The primary impact of this vulnerability is a denial of service condition resulting from unexpected crashes within the Safari browser. When a user visits a maliciously crafted webpage designed to exploit these state management errors, the WebKit engine may encounter unrecoverable errors during content processing. This leads to an immediate termination of the browsing session or even the entire application process. While this does not directly allow for arbitrary code execution or data exfiltration in its current manifestation, it significantly degrades user experience and reliability. Furthermore, denial of service vulnerabilities can sometimes serve as precursors to more severe exploits if they expose memory corruption patterns that could potentially be leveraged by attackers to achieve remote code execution under specific conditions.
This type of vulnerability is commonly categorized under CWE-20 Improper Input Validation or CWE-362 Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization, depending on the exact nature of the state management failure. In terms of attack vectors, it aligns with ATT&CK technique T1189 Drive-by Compromise, where an attacker relies on a victim visiting a compromised website to trigger the exploit. The mitigation strategy employed by Apple involves rigorous testing and refinement of the WebKit engine's internal logic to ensure that all state transitions are validated against expected parameters before execution proceeds. Users should update their devices to iOS 18.7.10, iPadOS 18.7.10, iOS 26.6.1, iPadOS 26.6.1, or macOS Tahoe 26.6.2 to benefit from these fixes. Additionally, enabling features such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention and keeping browser extensions updated can provide additional layers of defense against malicious web content designed to trigger similar vulnerabilities in unpatched versions.