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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Jan 2026.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2025-43529

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.7.3 / 26.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 26.2, iOS 18.7.3 and iPadOS 18.7.3, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26. CVE-2025-14174 was also issued in response to this report.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit allowing arbitrary code execution via maliciously crafted web content. This memory management flaw was actively exploited in targeted attacks against specific individuals on iOS versions prior to iOS 26.

MitigationApply available security updates immediately: iOS 18.7.3/26.2, iPadOS 18.7.3/26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, Safari 26.2, tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, and watchOS 26.2. Prioritize iOS devices given confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

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:< 26.2
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.3>= 26.0, < 26.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.3>= 26.0, < 26.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 26.0, < 26.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 26.2
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 26.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 the device or software product
    Determine whether the system is running iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS, or Safari. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On macOS, open Safari > About Safari. On tvOS/visionOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if Any Apple product from the affected list (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS, or Safari browser)
  2. Determine the installed iOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > General > About and note the Version number (e.g., 18.7.2, 26.1).
    Affected if Version is less than 18.7.3, or version is 26.0 or 26.1 (falls within 26.0 to less than 26.2)
  3. Determine the installed iPadOS version
    On iPad, open Settings > General > About and note the Version number.
    Affected if Version is less than 18.7.3, or version is 26.0 or 26.1 (falls within 26.0 to less than 26.2)
  4. Determine the installed macOS version
    Open Safari > About Safari, or go to System Settings > General > About to find the macOS version number.
    Affected if Version is 26.0 or 26.1 (falls within 26.0 to less than 26.2)
  5. Determine the installed tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.2 (for tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS)
  6. Determine the standalone Safari version
    On macOS, open Safari > About Safari to see the Safari version. On iOS/iPadOS, the Safari version matches the OS version.
    Affected if Safari version is less than 26.2

The system is affected if it is running any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS, or Safari version within the ranges: less than 18.7.3, or 26.0 to less than 26.2.

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 18.7.3 / 26.2 or later
Fixed in 18.7.326.2
Interim mitigation

Apply available security updates immediately: iOS 18.7.3/26.2, iPadOS 18.7.3/26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, Safari 26.2, tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, and watchOS 26.2. Prioritize iOS devices given confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 26.2; iOS 18.7.3 or iOS 26.2; iPadOS 18.7.3 or iPadOS 26.2; macOS Tahoe 26.2; tvOS 26.2; visionOS 26.2; watchOS 26.2

  1. Identify the affected Apple product (Safari, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS)
  2. Check the current installed version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings/About This Mac (macOS)
  3. For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update to iOS 18.7.3/26.2 or iPadOS 18.7.3/26.2
  4. For macOS: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Tahoe 26.2
  5. For Safari: Update via macOS update (Safari 26.2 is included with macOS Tahoe 26.2)
  6. For tvOS/visionOS/watchOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update to tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, or watchOS 26.2
  7. After updating, verify the version number matches the fixed release

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-43529 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