CVE-2026-28842
Published: 25 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-28842 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 19.0th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly enforces bounds checks on information inputs to prevent buffer overflows like the insufficient bounds checking in CVE-2026-28842.
Implements memory protection mechanisms to safeguard against memory corruption resulting from buffer overflow exploitation.
Mandates timely flaw remediation, such as applying the macOS Tahoe 26.4 patch that fixed the buffer overflow via improved bounds checks.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Remote buffer overflow enables direct application crashes via memory corruption, mapping to T1499.004 (Application or System Exploitation) for Endpoint Denial of Service.
NVD Description
The issue was addressed with improved bounds checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.4. A buffer overflow may result in memory corruption and unexpected app termination.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-28842 is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) stemming from insufficient bounds checks in macOS Tahoe versions prior to 26.4. The flaw can lead to memory corruption and unexpected application termination, earning a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network with low complexity and no required privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation results in high-impact availability disruption through memory corruption, potentially causing affected applications to crash and deny service to legitimate users.
Apple's security advisory at https://support.apple.com/en-us/126794 states that the issue was addressed in macOS Tahoe 26.4 through improved bounds checks, recommending users update to the patched version for mitigation.
Details
- CWE(s)