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Mallory
Medium

Out-of-bounds read in Apple CoreSymbolication file parsing

IdentifiersCVE-2026-28918CWE-125· Out-of-bounds Read

CVE-2026-28918 is an out-of-bounds access vulnerability in Apple's CoreSymbolication framework. Apple states the issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. The flaw is triggered when CoreSymbolication parses a maliciously crafted file, due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data that can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. Apple advisories describe the impact as unexpected app termination, while supporting ZDI reporting characterizes the bug more specifically as an out-of-bounds read within CoreSymbolication.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

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Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can cause the affected application or process handling the crafted file to terminate unexpectedly, resulting in denial of service. Supporting third-party reporting indicates the out-of-bounds read may also disclose limited sensitive information from adjacent memory, though Apple's own advisory emphasizes app termination rather than information disclosure.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patched, reduce exposure by avoiding parsing untrusted or externally supplied files with affected software and limiting workflows that automatically process attacker-controlled files. Where feasible, restrict delivery of untrusted files from remote sources and open such content only in updated environments.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the vendor fixes in iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5. Apple addressed the issue through improved bounds checking in the affected CoreSymbolication code path.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
AppleIosoperating_system
AppleIpadosoperating_system
AppleIphone Osoperating_system
AppleMacosoperating_system
AppleTvosoperating_system
AppleVisionosoperating_system
AppleWatchosoperating_system

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What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity3

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