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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28953

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.7.9 / 26.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.5, iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process 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 handling vulnerability in WebKit (the browser engine used by Safari and Apple's mobile/desktop operating systems) that can be triggered by processing maliciously crafted web content, leading to an unexpected process crash (denial of service).

MitigationApply the available Apple security updates (Safari 26.5, iOS 18.7.9/iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5/iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5) to all affected devices to address the memory handling issue.

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:< 18.7.9>= 26.0, < 26.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.9>= 26.0, < 26.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 26.0, < 26.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 26.5
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 26.5

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
None
Availability
None

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

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 iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings > General > About > Version and note the version number
    Affected if Version is below 18.7.9 OR version is 26.0 through 26.4.x
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About > Version and note the version number
    Affected if Version is below 18.7.9 OR version is 26.0 through 26.4.x
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number
    Affected if Version is 26.0 through 26.4.x (macOS Tahoe)
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Open Settings > General > About > Version and note the version number
    Affected if Version is below 26.5
  5. Check visionOS version on Apple Vision
    Open Settings > General > About > Version and note the version number
    Affected if Version is below 26.5
  6. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the paired iPhone, or on Apple Watch go to Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 26.5

If the device OS version falls within any of the affected ranges listed for that platform, the WebKit vulnerability is present and could be triggered by visiting malicious web content in Safari.

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 18.7.9 / 26.5 or later
Fixed in 18.7.926.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the available Apple security updates (Safari 26.5, iOS 18.7.9/iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5/iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5) to all affected devices to address the memory handling issue.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS/iPadOS 18.7.9 or 26.5 (depending on branch), macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, Safari 26.5

  1. Identify the currently installed OS version on the affected device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch)
  2. For iPhone/iPad devices running iOS/iPadOS 18.x: Upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 18.7.9 or later
  3. For iPhone/iPad devices running iOS/iPadOS 26.x: Upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 26.5 or later
  4. For Mac computers: Upgrade to macOS Tahoe 26.5 or later
  5. For Apple TV devices: Upgrade to tvOS 26.5 or later
  6. For Apple Vision Pro devices: Upgrade to visionOS 26.5 or later
  7. For Apple Watch devices: Upgrade to watchOS 26.5 or later
  8. On Macs, also ensure Safari is updated to version 26.5 or later
Caveat Major OS upgrades (e.g., from 18.x to 26.x) may include feature changes and require sufficient battery and storage; minor point releases (18.7.x to 18.7.9) typically have minimal breaking change risk

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2026-28953 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