CVE-2026-43655
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 · uneditedAn out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or read kernel memory.
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 · moderate confidenceOut-of-bounds read vulnerability in Apple kernel components affecting iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5. The flaw allows a malicious application to read kernel memory or cause system termination due to insufficient bounds checking in kernel-level code.
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< 26.5< 26.5>= 26.0, < 26.5< 26.5< 26.5CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version numberAffected if Version is less than 26.5
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Check iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the iPad and note the version numberAffected if Version is less than 26.5
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Check macOS versionGo to System Settings > About or use System Profiler and note the macOS versionAffected if Version is 26.0 or higher but lower than 26.5 (Tahoe 26.0-26.4.x)
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Check tvOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the Apple TV and note the version numberAffected if Version is less than 26.5
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Check watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About and note the versionAffected if Version is less than 26.5
The device is affected if the installed OS version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS versions below 26.5, or macOS versions 26.0 through 26.4.x.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped26.5
Apply vendor-supplied patches by updating affected devices to iOS 26.5/iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, or watchOS 26.5 or later versions.
iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, or watchOS 26.5 depending on device type
- Check the current OS version on the affected device (Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, System Preferences > About on macOS)
- Update to iOS 26.5 on affected iPhones
- Update to iPadOS 26.5 on affected iPads
- Update to macOS Tahoe 26.5 on affected Macs
- Update to tvOS 26.5 on affected Apple TV devices
- Update to watchOS 26.5 on affected Apple Watch devices
- After updating, verify the new version is installed and the device is functioning normally
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43655 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-43655 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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