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Actively exploited

CVE-2025-43520 Apple Multiple Products Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

Apple watchOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and tvOS contain a classic buffer overflow vulnerability which could allow a malicious application to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory.

From the CISA KEV catalogue version 2026.11.06, with Cybergen analysis. Updated 6 Nov 2026.

Our Assessment

Should You Worry?

Patch urgentlyCybergen assessment
  • CISA confirmed exploitation in the wild and added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 20 Mar 2026.
  • Rated Medium severity (CVSS 5.5, scored by CISA).
  • It has been in the catalogue for 231 days. Systems still unpatched now have almost certainly been scanned for it.
The Vulnerability

What It Is

A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.2 and iPadOS 18.7.2, iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, visionOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1. A malicious application may be able to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory.

Affected Versions

ProductVersions
Apple iOS and iPadOSbefore 18.7.2
before 26.1
Apple macOSbefore 14.8.2
before 15.7.2
before 26.1
Apple tvOSbefore 26.1
Apple visionOSbefore 26.1
Apple watchOSbefore 26.1

From the public CVE record, as supplied by the vendor. Always confirm against the vendor advisory.

From Watch to Action

What To Do Now

  1. 1

    Find it

    Search your asset inventory and external attack surface for Apple Multiple Products. Include cloud images, appliances and anything a supplier runs for you.

    Attack Surface Management
  2. 2

    Fix it

    Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

    Vulnerability Management
  3. 3

    Hunt for compromise

    If an affected system was reachable before you patched, assume it may have been hit. Check logs, new accounts, web shells and outbound connections from the date of exposure.

    Incident Response
  4. 4

    Prove it is fixed

    Rescan or test the system after patching. Upgrades that fail silently and forgotten secondary instances are common.

    Penetration Testing

Vendor Advisories

Regulation

The Compliance Clock

Cyber EssentialsCyber Essentials requires high and critical updates (CVSS 7.0 or above) within 14 days of release. Treat any exploited flaw the same way.NIS2If exploitation causes a significant incident, essential and important entities owe their CSIRT an early warning within 24 hours and a notification within 72 hours.DORAFinancial entities must classify ICT incidents and send an initial notification for a major incident within strict deadlines, with exploited flaws a common cause.US federal (BOD 22-01)Federal civilian agencies had until 3 Apr 2026 to remediate. A sensible benchmark for everyone else.

General guidance, not legal advice. Your obligations depend on your sector, scope and jurisdiction.

Stay Ahead

More Exploited Apple Flaws

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CVE-2024-27834Apple Multiple Products Improper Authentication VulnerabilityAdded 4 Nov 2026CVE-2026-86950Apple Multiple Products Out-of-Bounds Write VulnerabilityAdded 29 Sep 2026CVE-2026-65400Apple macOS Improper Authentication VulnerabilityAdded 18 Aug 2026CVE-2025-43510Apple Multiple Products Improper Locking VulnerabilityAdded 20 Mar 2026CVE-2025-31277Apple Multiple Products Buffer Overflow VulnerabilityAdded 20 Mar 2026CVE-2023-43000Apple Multiple products Use-After-Free VulnerabilityAdded 5 Mar 2026

All 96 exploited Apple vulnerabilities

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Evidence

Sources

  1. CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue
  2. NVD: CVE-2025-43520
  3. CVE record: CVE-2025-43520
  4. FIRST EPSS
  5. support.apple.com/en-us/125632
  6. support.apple.com/en-us/125633
  7. support.apple.com/en-us/125634
  8. support.apple.com/en-us/125635
  9. support.apple.com/en-us/125636
  10. support.apple.com/en-us/125637
  11. support.apple.com/en-us/125638
  12. support.apple.com/en-us/125639