dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43209

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6 / 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6, watchOS 11.6. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected Safari crash.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A memory safety vulnerability in WebKit/Safari where processing maliciously crafted web content triggers an out-of-bounds memory access due to insufficient bounds checking. This could allow memory corruption leading to denial of service or potentially arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9/18.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.7/Sonoma 14.7.7/Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6, watchOS 11.6) to all affected devices, and limit browsing to trusted websites until patches are applied.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.7.9>= 18.0, < 18.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.7.7>= 14.0, < 14.7.7>= 15.0, < 15.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.6
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.6
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 11.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your Apple device platform
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS. This can be done via Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, System Settings or System Information on macOS, or the Settings app on tvOS/visionOS/watchOS.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected platforms (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS)
  2. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number. Compare it to the affected ranges: iOS < 18.6; iPadOS < 17.7.9 or >= 18.0 and < 18.6.
    Affected if The version is iOS < 18.6, or iPadOS < 17.7.9, or iPadOS >= 18.0 and < 18.6
  3. Check the installed macOS version
    Go to System Settings > General > About or use System Information and check the macOS version. Compare to affected ranges: macOS < 13.7.7, >= 14.0 and < 14.7.7, or >= 15.0 and < 15.6.
    Affected if The version is macOS Ventura < 13.7.7, Sonoma 14.0-14.7.6, or Sequoia 15.0-15.5
  4. Check tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS version
    On Apple TV: go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Vision Pro: go to Settings > General > About. On Apple Watch: go to Settings > General > About. Compare to affected ranges: tvOS < 18.6, visionOS < 2.6, watchOS < 11.6.
    Affected if The version is tvOS < 18.6, visionOS < 2.6, or watchOS < 11.6
  5. Confirm Safari or WebKit-based browser is in use
    Verify that Safari or any third-party browser using the WebKit rendering engine is installed and used to browse web content. On macOS, check /Applications/Safari.app. On iOS/iPadOS, check for Safari in the app library.
    Affected if Safari or a WebKit-based browser is actively used to render untrusted web content

You are affected if your device runs an Apple OS version within the affected ranges AND you use Safari or a WebKit-based browser to process web content.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.6 / 11.6 / 13.7.7 or later
Fixed in 2.611.613.7.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates (iOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9/18.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.7/Sonoma 14.7.7/Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6, watchOS 11.6) to all affected devices, and limit browsing to trusted websites until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.6 / iPadOS 17.7.9 or 18.6 / macOS 13.7.7, 14.7.7, or 15.6 / tvOS 18.6 / watchOS 11.6 / visionOS 2.6

  1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro)
  2. Determine the currently installed OS version from Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/macOS) or Settings app (tvOS/watchOS/visionOS)
  3. For iPhones: upgrade to iOS 18.6
  4. For iPads: upgrade to iPadOS 17.7.9 or iPadOS 18.6
  5. For Macs running macOS Ventura: upgrade to 13.7.7
  6. For Macs running macOS Sonoma: upgrade to 14.7.7
  7. For Macs running macOS Sequoia: upgrade to 15.6
  8. For Apple TV: upgrade to tvOS 18.6
Caveat Standard OS update; no known breaking changes for this security patch

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43209 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-43209 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data