Apple products: memory corruption flaw under attack

What is affected

Apple products are found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use them and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Apple iOS, macOS, and iPadOS contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in CoreGraphics that may lead to arbitrary code execution.

What an attacker can do

This is a memory corruption flaw. It lets an attacker corrupt the program's memory by feeding it specially crafted content: a web page, a file or a network message. The result ranges from a crash to the attacker running their own code.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

No account needed

Does the victim have to do something?

Yes, the victim must open or click something

What to do

1. Update Apple products now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/en-us/149226
• support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/en-us/149228
• support.apple.comsupport.apple.com/en-us/149229

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 29, 2026, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by October 13, 2026 (4 days from now). That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 1.2% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 68% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7.1 and iPadOS 26.7.1, macOS Sequoia 15.8.1, macOS Tahoe 26.7.1. Processing a maliciously crafted file may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 27.