Medium

Use-after-free in WebKit web content processing

IdentifiersCVE-2025-43432CWE-416· Use After Free

CVE-2025-43432 is a use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit affecting Apple platforms and WebKitGTK/WPE WebKit. According to the provided advisories, the flaw is triggered when the engine processes maliciously crafted web content. Apple states the issue was addressed with improved memory management. The available context does not identify the specific vulnerable function or code path, but it consistently characterizes the bug as a use-after-free in WebKit content handling that can be reached via attacker-controlled web content.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

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

Successful exploitation can cause an unexpected process crash while rendering or processing malicious web content, resulting in denial of service of the affected WebKit/Safari process. The provided content does not confirm code execution or sandbox escape for this CVE specifically, although use-after-free bugs can sometimes have broader exploitability depending on surrounding conditions.

Mitigation

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

If patching cannot be performed immediately, reduce exposure to untrusted web content, especially in applications embedding WebKit/WebKitGTK. Consider temporarily disabling or restricting WebKit-based browsing components where feasible, and apply network and application controls that limit access to attacker-controlled sites. These are compensating controls only; vendor updates are the primary mitigation.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the vendor fixes. Apple indicates the issue is fixed in Safari 26.1, iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, visionOS 26.1, and watchOS 26.1. Additional Apple context references fixes for macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia. For Linux consumers of WebKit, upgrade WebKitGTK and WPE WebKit to version 2.50.2 or later. Debian guidance in the provided content recommends upgrading webkit2gtk to 2.50.2-1~deb12u1 on bookworm or 2.50.2-1~deb13u1 on trixie.

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

AppleIpadosoperating_system

AppleIphone Osoperating_system

AppleSafariapplication

AppleTvosoperating_system

AppleVisionosoperating_system

AppleWatchosoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

5 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

5 SOURCESView more in app

zdnet zero dayNews

Jan 24, 2026

About the security content of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1 - Apple Support

Buffer overflow in web content processing leading to unexpected process crash.

apple supportNews

Dec 12, 2025

About the security content of Safari 26.1 - Apple Support (MT)

A use-after-free vulnerability in web content processing that may cause an unexpected process crash on macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

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Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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

Social activity2