External risk intelligence

Apple Use-After-Free Vulnerability Allows Kernel Memory Corruption

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1)

CVE-2026-112514

This vulnerability affects local OS components in end-user devices such as iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. These platforms are primarily client-side devices where memory management issues are typically triggered by local user interaction or specific client-side processing, rather than being a public-facing network service or internet-exposed gateway.

Use After Free

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 affecting Apple's operating systems, including iOS and macOS. This issue, a use-after-free vulnerability, could allow an attacker to corrupt system memory, potentially leading to unexpected system termination. The primary concern at this time is to confirm the relevance and exposure of this vulnerability to our specific environment.

Memory issue affects Apple operating systems.
Leaders should remember this for potential impact.
Confirm relevance and exposure for our systems.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted data over the network, potentially leading to unexpected system termination or kernel memory corruption. This occurs because of an issue with how memory is managed, specifically a use-after-free problem.

No special access needed.
Triggered by network data.
Risk of system crash or corruption.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

A use-after-free vulnerability, when exploited, could lead to unexpected system termination or corruption of kernel memory on affected Apple operating systems. This means the system could crash, or critical memory used by the operating system's core functions could be damaged, impacting overall stability and security.

Kernel memory integrity.
Unexpected system termination or memory corruption.
System instability and potential data corruption.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

Identifying the scope of this use-after-free vulnerability requires understanding which teams manage the affected Apple operating systems. Application owners and platform teams are likely responsible for ensuring these OS versions are updated and secure. The initial step involves locating all instances of the affected operating systems, assessing their exposure, and then planning remediation based on their criticality and reachability.

Ownership by platform and application teams.
Verify asset reachability and business criticality.
Plan and coordinate OS updates by 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 the software affected by CVE-2026-112514?

This vulnerability impacts core operating systems across the Apple ecosystem, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS. These platforms serve as the foundation for user devices, managing hardware resources and running applications. The issue involves low-level memory management components within these operating systems, which are essential for maintaining stable and secure system operations.

What does a use-after-free vulnerability mean?

It is a memory management flaw categorized as CWE-416. It occurs when a program continues to use a pointer to a memory location after that memory has been cleared or released. Because the memory is no longer reserved for that specific purpose, an attacker might influence the system to store unexpected data there, potentially leading to system crashes or the corruption of critical kernel memory.

How is this vulnerability triggered?

The issue is triggered by the processing of specially crafted data received over a network. It does not require special access privileges or user interaction to initiate. Note that the vulnerability is specific to how these OS components handle memory; simply having the operating system installed does not trigger the flaw—it requires the system to receive and process the malicious data packets.

Do I need to worry about this on all devices?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that while the vulnerability involves network-based data, these are primarily client-side devices like iPhones and Macs. Because these platforms are not typically configured as internet-facing gateways or public-facing servers, the likelihood of direct, widespread network exposure is considered very low for most standard user environments.

Is there a way to fix this issue?

The primary response is to update the affected devices to the versions specified in the security advisory, such as iOS 27.2 or macOS Sequoia 15.8.2. Organizations should begin by identifying which Apple devices are in use, verifying their current OS version, and coordinating update schedules with the teams responsible for managing those specific platforms.

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.