External risk intelligence

macOS Memory Corruption and System Termination Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1)

CVE-2026-112443

This vulnerability affects macOS system components and requires an application to trigger memory corruption or system termination. These are local operating system processes, not network-exposed services, web applications, or edge gateways. There is no typical public internet exposure for this type of local system-level process.

Memory Corruption

Halo Surface Signal: 1 out of 5 — much less likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified that impacts macOS, potentially allowing an application to cause system instability or corrupt process memory. While the exact business impact requires further analysis of relevant systems, this type of issue warrants attention due to its potential to disrupt operations.

App issue can crash system or corrupt memory.
Critical impact if exploited on business systems.
Confirm relevance and exposure for affected systems.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by tricking a user into running a specially crafted application on their macOS device. This application would then interact with a vulnerable system component, leading to unexpected system termination or corruption of the application's memory. The exact method for causing this memory corruption or termination is not detailed in the provided information.

Requires a malicious application to run.
Triggers memory corruption or termination.
System instability or data integrity risk.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow an application to unexpectedly terminate the system or corrupt its own process memory. This may occur when an app is launched and interacts with system components in a specific way, leading to memory handling issues. No specific user or system data types are identified as at risk beyond the potential for process memory corruption.

System processes could be affected.
An app could cause termination or corruption.
Unexpected system termination or data corruption.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

To address this vulnerability, infrastructure and platform teams are likely responsible for identifying affected macOS systems. The initial practical step is to confirm the presence of the affected technology, assess its business criticality and reachability, and then identify the accountable owner to plan remediation.

Ownership: Infrastructure and platform teams.
Verify first: Confirm affected systems and criticality.
Action: Plan remediation with accountable owner.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is macOS Golden Gate and macOS Tahoe?

These are specific versions of the macOS operating system. They function as the core software environment that manages hardware resources, runs applications, and maintains system security. Organizations rely on these platforms to provide a stable foundation for business productivity tools and specialized software. CVE-2026-112443 identifies flaws within the memory management components of these operating systems, which dictate how the computer stores and accesses data while running programs.

How does CVE-2026-112443 affect memory?

This vulnerability falls under the CWE-119 weakness class, known as Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. In plain terms, the software fails to properly check if data fits into the memory space allocated for it. Because of this, an application can write data past the intended buffer, which leads to memory corruption or causes the operating system to crash and terminate unexpectedly.

Do I need to be running a specific app to trigger this?

Yes, this bug is not triggered by simply visiting a website or opening a document. It requires a specially crafted application to be executed on the macOS device. Once the malicious application is running, it interacts with vulnerable system components to cause the memory handling error. The bug does not trigger during standard system processes or when using legitimate, trusted software that does not attempt to exploit these memory boundaries.

Is my device at risk if it is not internet-facing?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this vulnerability is very unlikely to be exposed via the internet. Because it affects local system-level processes rather than network-exposed services, web applications, or edge gateways, it does not typically present a remote network threat. The primary risk exists when a user is convinced to manually download and run an untrusted application on their local machine.

When should I take action on CVE-2026-112443?

You should begin by verifying if you are running macOS Golden Gate 27.2 or macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, as these versions contain the necessary memory handling fixes. Once you confirm which machines in your environment are using older versions, prioritize them for updates. Coordinate with your IT or platform management teams to ensure these systems are patched, as applying the official update is the primary method to resolve the memory handling defect.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.