Exploited

CVE-2025-43520

Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS · Phones, tablets and chipsets

Apple Multiple Products Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on March 20, 2026.

Affected product: Apple iOS / iPadOS / macOS (category Phones, tablets and chipsets, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Apple Multiple Products.

What should I do?

Apply the patches or mitigations from Apple; if none are available, stop using the product. For cloud services, follow the guidance from Apple.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 14 days (due April 3, 2026). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

Apple security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2025-43520 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

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

Timeline

December 12, 2025 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
March 20, 2026 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
April 3, 2026 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on March 20, 2026 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the patches or mitigations from Apple; if none are available, stop using the product. For cloud services, follow the guidance from Apple. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: April 3, 2026, 14 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: December 12, 2025 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: Apple Multiple Products Filed by this site under “Phones, tablets and chipsets” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

5.5 / 10 CVSS severity: medium

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

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.

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.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).