CVE-2025-43529
Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free WebKit Vulnerability
Apple Multiple Products
A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.2, iOS 18.7.3 and iPadOS 18.7.3, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26. CVE-2025-14174 was also issued in response to this report.
Exploitation status
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
Listed by CISA on 15 December 2025. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 5 January 2026.
EPSS — exploitation probability
FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 25.7%, which is higher than 98% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Frequently asked questions
Is CVE-2025-43529 being exploited by ransomware groups?
No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2025-43529.
What does CVE-2025-43529 affect?
CVE-2025-43529 affects Apple Multiple Products. A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.2, iOS 18.7.3 and iPadOS 18.7.3, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, tvOS 26.2, visionOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26. CVE-2025-14174 was also issued in response to this report.
How severe is CVE-2025-43529?
CVE-2025-43529 is rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 8.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 25.7%, higher than 98% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 5 January 2026.
How should organisations respond to CVE-2025-43529?
Apply the vendor patch for Apple Multiple Products as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.