Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-43771

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 14.0 – 14.8.8

Published
27 July 2026
Modified
28 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0014 4th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-43771 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 4th 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

A stack overflow was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, macOS Tahoe 26.6. An app may be able to cause a denial-of-service.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

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?

Stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121) in macOS directly enables local application exploitation resulting in denial-of-service (T1499.004).

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-28848Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2026-43718Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2026-28897Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2026-28846Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-23230Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-23516Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-23497Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-40383Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-41078Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-38571Same product: Apple Macos

Affected Assets

apple
macos
14.0 — 14.8.8 · 15.0 — 15.7.8 · 26.0 — 26.6

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
  • SC-39 Process Isolation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly implements the improved input validation that fixes the stack overflow in this CVE.

prevent

Enforces memory protections that block exploitation of stack-based buffer overflows (CWE-121) leading to DoS.

prevent

Process isolation limits the impact of a stack overflow in one app from affecting the broader macOS system.

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-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

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 (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

none

Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.

References