CVE-2026-65409 in iPadOS
Summary
by MITRE • 09/15/2026
A type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7 and iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, watchOS 27. An app may be able to cause a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2026
The vulnerability in question is classified as a type confusion error, which falls under the broader category of CWE-843: Access of Incorrect Memory Location with Incompatible Data Type. This specific flaw arises when an application or system component incorrectly interprets the data type of a memory object during execution. Instead of treating the data according to its actual declared structure, the software processes it using a different type definition that has incompatible size, alignment, or semantic properties. The resolution involved implementing improved memory handling mechanisms within the affected operating systems and their respective variants, including iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27. These updates ensure that memory operations are strictly validated against their intended data types before execution proceeds, thereby preventing the misinterpretation of binary data structures.
From a technical perspective, type confusion vulnerabilities often occur in complex software environments where dynamic typing or manual memory management is employed without sufficient runtime checks. When an attacker can influence how a pointer is cast or interpreted, they may cause the application to read from or write to unintended memory regions. In this specific instance, the primary consequence identified by Apple is a denial of service condition rather than arbitrary code execution. This suggests that the type confusion likely leads to immediate program instability, such as a segmentation fault or an unhandled exception, when the misinterpreted data causes invalid operations on system resources. The lack of exploitation for privilege escalation indicates that the vulnerability does not provide sufficient control over instruction pointers or critical security tokens required for higher-level attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered around service availability and application stability. An attacker who can trigger this condition through a maliciously crafted input, such as a specially formatted file or network packet processed by an app on the device, could cause the affected process to crash repeatedly. This results in a denial of service for users relying on that specific functionality. While less severe than remote code execution vulnerabilities like those mapped to CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code, type confusion issues remain significant because they can be used as part of a larger attack chain or to disrupt critical system services if the affected component is essential to device operation. The mapping to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1529: System Shutdown or Reboot highlights how such instability can effectively halt normal operations on an endpoint, forcing users to restart their devices and potentially losing unsaved work or interrupting ongoing processes.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability rely heavily on the software updates provided by Apple. Administrators and end-users should ensure that all iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS devices are updated to the specified versions listed above. These patches contain the necessary code changes to enforce strict type checking during memory access operations. For developers creating applications for these platforms, it is crucial to adhere to safe coding practices that minimize manual memory management where possible, utilize modern language features that provide automatic bounds checking and type safety, and implement rigorous input validation before processing external data. Regular security audits and static analysis tools can help identify potential type confusion scenarios during the development phase, reducing the risk of introducing similar flaws into future software releases.