dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2025-43216

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6 / 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 18.6, iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, 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 use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit (Safari's rendering engine) allows malicious web content to trigger a crash by accessing freed memory. This class of memory corruption bug could potentially be leveraged for arbitrary code execution if an attacker achieves precise memory layout control.

MitigationApply vendor patches: update to Safari 18.6, iOS/iPadOS 18.6 (or 17.7.9 for older devices), macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6, or watchOS 11.6 as appropriate for affected systems.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 18.6
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.7.9>= 18.0, < 18.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 and OS platform
    Determine whether you are using a Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro. Note the primary operating system: macOS, iOS/iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, or visionOS.
    Affected if Any unpatched Apple device running the affected OS versions below the fixed releases
  2. Check installed macOS version
    On Mac: Click Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the macOS version number (e.g., 15.5, 14.7, etc.).
    Affected if macOS version is below 15.6 (e.g., 15.5, 15.4, 14.x, etc.)
  3. Check installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad: Open Settings > General > About. Note the iOS version number (e.g., 18.5, 17.7.8, etc.).
    Affected if iOS/iPadOS version is below 18.6, or is between 17.7.9 and 18.0 (exclusive) - check both your current version and the 17.x branch version
  4. Check installed Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari > About Safari. Note the Safari version (e.g., 18.5, 17.6, etc.).
    Affected if Safari version is below 18.6 on any macOS version
  5. Check tvOS, watchOS, or visionOS version
    On Apple TV: Settings > General > About > Version. On Apple Watch: Settings > General > About > watchOS. On Apple Vision Pro: Settings > General > About > visionOS. Note the version number.
    Affected if tvOS below 18.6, watchOS below 11.6, or visionOS below 2.6

You are affected if your device runs any macOS version below 15.6, iOS/iPadOS below 18.6 (or below 17.7.9 in the 17.x branch), tvOS below 18.6, watchOS below 11.6, or visionOS below 2.6 - all of which contain a WebKit version with this use-after-free vulnerability.

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 / 15.6 or later
Fixed in 2.611.615.6
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches: update to Safari 18.6, iOS/iPadOS 18.6 (or 17.7.9 for older devices), macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6, or watchOS 11.6 as appropriate for affected systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.6 / iPadOS 17.7.9 / iPadOS 18.6 / macOS Sequoia 15.6 / tvOS 18.6 / watchOS 11.6 / visionOS 2.6 / Safari 18.6

  1. For iPhone and iPod touch: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 18.6
  2. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 17.7.9 (for iPadOS 17.x devices) or iPadOS 18.6 (for iPadOS 18.x devices)
  3. For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sequoia 15.6
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > General > Apple TV Software Update and install tvOS 18.6
  5. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app and go to General > Software Update and install watchOS 11.6
  6. For Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 2.6
  7. For Safari (standalone): Update to Safari 18.6 through macOS Software Update or the App Store
Caveat Standard OS update considerations apply - review app compatibility before upgrading; backup important data

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2025-43216 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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