CVE-2025-43529: Technical Deep-Dive (Auto Refreshed)

Generated on 2026-03-23T21:36:49.228Z. This file is automatically regenerated every 30 minutes by the CVE AI enrichment job using web sources (NVD, MITRE, CISA KEV, GitHub).

Executive Technical Summary

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 26.2, Safari 26.2, iOS 18.7.3 and iPadOS 18.7.3, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, visionOS 26.2, tvOS 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.

• Context preserved from previous revision: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 26.2, Safari 26.2, iOS 18.7.3 and iPadOS 18.7.3, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, visionOS 26.2, tvOS 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. Notes: Analysis of CVE-2025-43529 (WebKit UAF) + CVE-2025-14174 (ANGLE OOB) exploit chain - iOS Safari

Technical Details

• CVE: CVE-2025-43529
• KEV date added: 2025-12-15
• KEV due date: 2026-01-05
• NVD published: 2025-12-18
• NVD modified: 2025-12-18
• MITRE modified: 2026-02-26
• CVSS base score: 8.8
• CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• CVSS exploitability score: 2.8
• CVSS impact score: 5.9
• Attack vector: Network
• Attack complexity: Low
• Privileges required: None
• User interaction: Required
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality impact: High
• Integrity impact: High
• Availability impact: High

Versions and Products Impacted

• apple / safari (versions: < 26.2)
• apple / ipados (versions: < 18.7.3)
• apple / ipados (versions: >= 26.0, < 26.2)
• apple / iphone os (versions: < 18.7.3)
• apple / iphone os (versions: >= 26.0, < 26.2)
• apple / macos (versions: < 26.2)
• apple / tvos (versions: < 26.2)
• apple / visionos (versions: < 26.2)
• apple / watchos (versions: < 26.2)
• Apple / iOS and iPadOS (versions: unspecified)
• Apple / tvOS (versions: unspecified)
• Apple / Safari (versions: unspecified)
• Apple / visionOS (versions: unspecified)
• Apple / macOS (versions: unspecified)
• Apple / watchOS (versions: unspecified)

Weakness Classification

• CWE-416
• 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.

Repositories for Lab Validation (Public Examples)

• zeroxjf/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis | stars: 91 | updated: 2026-03-21 | https://github.com/zeroxjf/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis
  Notes: Analysis of CVE-2025-43529 (WebKit UAF) + CVE-2025-14174 (ANGLE OOB) exploit chain - iOS Safari
• DarkFunct/TK-CVE-Repo | stars: 43 | updated: 2026-03-23 | https://github.com/DarkFunct/TK-CVE-Repo
  Notes: TK-CVE-Repo
• sakyu7/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis | stars: 1 | updated: 2026-03-23 | https://github.com/sakyu7/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis
  Notes: 🛠️ Analyze WebKit UAF vulnerabilities on iOS 26.1 with this ongoing project, tracking verified pieces and failures in the ANGLE exploit chain.
• kmeps4/bugtest | stars: 1 | updated: 2026-03-02 | https://github.com/kmeps4/bugtest
  Notes: CVE-2025-43529 Test
• 0xcrypto/apple-cves | stars: 0 | updated: 2026-03-22 | https://github.com/0xcrypto/apple-cves

People and Organizations Mentioned

• apple
• Multiple Products
• zeroxjf
• DarkFunct
• sakyu7
• kmeps4
• 0xcrypto

Practical Defensive Validation (Authorized Only)

1. Use only isolated environments and systems you own or are explicitly authorized to test.
2. Snapshot infrastructure before validation and preserve baseline logs (EDR, SIEM, OS, app).
3. Use apple / safari (versions: < 26.2) in isolated VM snapshots (vulnerable vs patched) and compare process tree telemetry before/after updates.
4. Validate command-execution prevention policies (AppLocker/WDAC/EDR) with harmless test binaries only.
5. Create SIEM detections for suspicious parent-child chains, encoded command usage, and abnormal service creation.

References

• NVD record: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-43529
• MITRE CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-43529
• CISA KEV Catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
• CISA KEV JSON feed: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json
• KEV notes: https://support.apple.com/en-us/125884 ; https://support.apple.com/en-us/125892 ; https://support.apple.com/en-us/125885 ; https://support.apple.com/en-us/125886 ; https://support.apple.com/en-us/125889 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-43529
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125884
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125885
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125886
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125889
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125890
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125891
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/125892
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-43529
• Repository example: https://github.com/zeroxjf/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis
• Repository example: https://github.com/DarkFunct/TK-CVE-Repo
• Repository example: https://github.com/sakyu7/WebKit-UAF-ANGLE-OOB-Analysis
• Repository example: https://github.com/kmeps4/bugtest
• Repository example: https://github.com/0xcrypto/apple-cves

This content is for defensive security training and authorized validation only.