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macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28835

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 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 macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4. Mounting a maliciously crafted SMB network share may lead to system termination.

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 macOS SMB implementation can be triggered by mounting a maliciously crafted SMB network share. The vulnerability leads to system termination (crash) due to improper memory management when handling SMB share responses.

MitigationApply the available security updates for macOS (Sequoia 15.7.5, Sonoma 14.8.5, or Tahoe 26.4) to the affected systems. Alternatively, avoid mounting untrusted SMB network shares until the 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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.5>= 15.0, < 15.7.5>= 26.0, < 26.4

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. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or open System Settings > About to view the installed macOS version
    Affected if The version is 14.0 to 14.8.4, 15.0 to 15.7.4, or 26.0 to 26.3 (any version in the affected ranges)
  2. Verify SMB File Sharing is enabled
    Open System Settings > General > Sharing and check if File Sharing is turned on, or run 'smbstatus' in Terminal if available
    Affected if File Sharing is enabled and using SMB protocol (SMB sharing is active)
  3. Check for active SMB connections
    Run 'netstat -an | grep 445' or 'ss -an | grep 445' in Terminal to list active SMB connections on port 445
    Affected if There are established or listening SMB connections to untrusted shares
  4. Inspect SMB service status
    Run 'launchctl list | grep smb' or check System Settings > General > Sharing > File Sharing > Options to see enabled protocols
    Affected if SMB service is running or SMB is selected as a protocol option in File Sharing

You are affected if your macOS version falls within the affected ranges (14.0-14.8.4, 15.0-15.7.4, or 26.0-26.3) AND SMB functionality is enabled or has been used to connect to network shares.

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 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 / 26.4 or later
Fixed in 14.8.515.7.526.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates for macOS (Sequoia 15.7.5, Sonoma 14.8.5, or Tahoe 26.4) to the affected systems. Alternatively, avoid mounting untrusted SMB network shares until the patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 / macOS Tahoe 26.4 (depending on your current major version)

  1. Back up all important data before performing the system update
  2. Verify current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. For macOS 14.x (Sonoma) users: Update to macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For macOS 15.x (Sequoia) users: Update to macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  5. For macOS 26.x (Tahoe) users: Update to macOS Tahoe 26.4 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  6. Restart the system after the update completes
Caveat Standard Apple point release update; review Apple release notes for any known issues before updating

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-28835 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