CVE-2026-43709
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 · uneditedA use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.5.2, iOS 26.5.2 and iPadOS 26.5.2, macOS Tahoe 26.5.2, tvOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6. 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit allows remote attackers to crash Safari and other Apple browsers via malicious web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, leading to undefined behavior and process termination.
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< 26.5.2< 26.5.2< 26.5.2< 26.5.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Safari version on macOSOpen Safari, click Safari menu > About Safari, or run 'safari_version' in TerminalAffected if Version shown is lower than 26.5.2
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Identify iOS or iPadOS version on mobile devicesGo to Settings > General > About > Software VersionAffected if Version shown is lower than 26.5.2
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Confirm WebKit is the active rendering engineIn Safari, visit any page, then go to Safari > Settings > Advanced and enable 'Show Develop menu', then Develop > User Agent to confirm WebKit is in use (default for Safari)Affected if WebKit is enabled as the browser engine (default state)
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Verify exposure to untrusted web contentDetermine whether Safari is used to browse the internet or could process HTML/WebKit content from external sourcesAffected if Device can load web pages from untrusted or malicious sources
You are affected if your Safari, iOS, iPadOS, or macOS browser version is below 26.5.2 and the browser can render web content from untrusted pages.
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 · scoped26.5.2
Apply the vendor-supplied patches (Safari 26.5.2, iOS/iPadOS 26.5.2, macOS Tahoe 26.5.2, tvOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6) to all affected devices. Restrict web browsing to trusted sources until patches are applied.
Upgrade to Safari 26.5.2, iOS 26.5.2, iPadOS 26.5.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 (or later)
- Identify the affected Apple device or software (Safari, iPadOS, iPhone, or macOS)
- For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install version 26.5.2 or later
- For macOS: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 or later
- For Safari: Update via macOS Software Update or the Safari menu > About Safari to verify version 26.5.2 or later is installed
- Restart the device or browser if prompted after the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43709 — 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-2026-43709 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