CVE-2026-43720
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 18.7.10 and iPadOS 18.7.10, 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 Safari crash.
In the news
Third-party coverageSurfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 potentially achieve arbitrary code execution by tricking users into visiting malicious websites. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed.
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>= 26.0, < 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 the Safari browser product in useDetermine if the user is running Safari on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, or another Apple platform. Check the browser application name and the host operating system.Affected if The browser is Apple Safari on any supported platform
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Check the installed Safari version on macOSOpen Safari, go to Safari > About Safari, or run 'safariversion' in Terminal to display the full version number.Affected if The displayed version is lower than 26.5.2 (for example, 26.0, 26.1, 26.4, etc.)
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Check the iOS or iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the iOS/iPadOS device to view the iOS version. Note: Safari version on iOS/iPadOS is tied to the OS version.Affected if The iOS/iPadOS version shows a number lower than 26.5.2 (for example, 26.0, 26.1, 26.4, etc.)
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Confirm macOS version if Safari is bundledGo to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version number. Safari on macOS is affected when macOS is >= 26.0 but Safari is < 26.5.2.Affected if macOS version is 26.0, 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, or 26.4 (any version in the 26.x range before 26.5.2)
A user is affected if they are running Apple Safari or using WebKit-based browsers on iOS/iPadOS with a version number lower than 26.5.2 on any supported Apple platform.
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 security updates (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. Until patched, avoid untrusted websites.
Safari 26.5.2, iOS 26.5.2, iPadOS 26.5.2, macOS Tahoe 26.5.2
- For macOS users: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install the macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 update
- For iOS users: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 26.5.2
- For iPadOS users: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 26.5.2
- For Safari on older macOS: Update Safari through the macOS update to Safari 26.5.2 or install Safari 26.5.2 from Apple's website if available for your macOS version
- Verify the update was successful by checking Safari version (Safari > About Safari) or iOS/iPadOS version (Settings > General > About)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43720 — 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-2026-43720 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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- 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