VDB-403784 · CVE-2026-43686 · GCVE-0-2026-43686

Apple iPadOS/iOS/macOS/tvOS/visionOS/watchOS Kernel use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.6	$100k and more	1.32

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as very critical has been found in Apple iPadOS, iOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS and watchOS. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component Kernel. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-43686. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple iPadOS, iOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS and watchOS. It has been rated as very critical. Affected by this issue is an unknown part of the component Kernel. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. 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. Connecting to a malicious NFS server may lead to kernel memory corruption.

The advisory is shared for download at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-43686 since 05/02/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $100k and more (estimation calculated on 09/14/2026).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

Smartphone Operating System

Vendor

Apple

Name

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.6

VulDB Base Score: 9.6
VulDB Temp Score: 9.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

05/02/2026 CVE reserved
09/14/2026 +135 days Advisory disclosed
09/14/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/14/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: support.apple.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-43686 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-43686
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-403784
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20180712

Entryinfo

Created: 09/14/2026 23:27
Changes: 09/14/2026 23:27 (53)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103