Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-28977

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 14.0 – 14.8.7

Published
11 May 2026
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0016 5th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-28977 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 6.2 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Malicious File (T1204.002); ranked at the 5th 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-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The issue was addressed with improved bounds checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. Processing a…

more

maliciously crafted file may lead to unexpected app termination.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1204.002 Malicious File Execution
An adversary may rely upon a user opening a malicious file in order to gain execution.
T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
Why these techniques?

CWE-119 bounds issue in file parsing enables crafted file to crash app (T1204.002 user execution + T1499.004 app DoS via exploitation).

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-43711Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28990Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-54551Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-43398Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-31219Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-43186Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2025-24111Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-28953Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-64758Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2026-43673Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 18.7.9 · 26.0 — 26.5
apple
iphone os
≤ 18.7.9 · 26.0 — 26.5
apple
macos
14.0 — 14.8.7 · 15.0 — 15.7.7 · 26.0 — 26.5
apple
tvos
≤ 26.5
apple
visionos
≤ 26.5
apple
watchos
≤ 26.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly enforces bounds checking and validation on untrusted file input to block the out-of-bounds memory access described by CWE-119.

prevent

Applies memory-protection mechanisms (e.g., ASLR, guard pages) that limit exploitability of residual buffer-boundary errors even after flawed input is processed.

detect

Integrity verification of software and files can detect corruption or unexpected termination resulting from the crafted-file processing flaw.

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 (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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 catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References