Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-28879

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 14.0 – 14.8.5

Published
25 March 2026
Modified
25 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0045 37th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-28879 is a medium-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 37th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.7 and iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4. Processing…

more

maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process crash.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
Why these techniques?

Use-after-free in web content processing enables client-side exploitation for code execution or crash (T1203).

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-43529Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-54499Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28883Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28942Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28947Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-24085Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-31239Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-43668Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28969Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-20637Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 18.7.7 · 26.0 — 26.4
apple
iphone os
≤ 18.7.7 · 26.0 — 26.4
apple
macos
14.0 — 14.8.5 · 15.0 — 15.7.5 · 26.0 — 26.4
apple
tvos
≤ 26.4
apple
visionos
≤ 26.4
apple
watchos
≤ 26.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely application of the vendor patches that remediate the use-after-free flaw in web-content processing.

prevent

Mandates memory-protection mechanisms that prevent or contain use-after-free conditions such as CWE-416.

prevent

Enforces process isolation so that a crash or exploit triggered by malicious web content cannot affect other processes or the kernel.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

References