CVE-2025-43425

Root

Cause CVE-2025-43425 is a memory handling vulnerability in Apple's WebKit engine, as indicated by the official description stating that the issue was addressed with improved memory handling. The vulnerability can be triggered by processing maliciously crafted web content, leading to an unexpected process crash. Apple's security advisory for macOS Tahoe 26.1 [1] notes that the platform received a fix for this issue, but the advisory for iOS 26.1 [2] shows a different CVE (CVE-2025-43471) and impact, confirming that this specific CVE affects multiple Apple platforms but the patches are delivered as part of the same software update.

Attack

Vector Exploitation requires an attacker to host or inject maliciously crafted web content that, when processed by the vulnerable WebKit component in Safari or other apps using WebKit, triggers the memory handling flaw. No authentication is required; the attack can be initiated remotely by luring a user to visit a malicious website or by injecting content into a trusted site. The vulnerability is accessible without any special permissions, consistent with CVSS v3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) yielding a severity of 4.3 (Medium).

Impact

Successful exploitation results in an unexpected process crash, which constitutes a denial of service (DoS) condition. The crash may terminate the browser or any app rendering the malicious content, disrupting user activity. There is no indication of arbitrary code execution or data exfiltration from the available sources. The impact is limited to availability, with no confidentiality or integrity compromise.

Mitigation

Apple has released fixes for this issue as part of Safari 26.1, iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, visionOS 26.1, and watchOS 26.1, all published on November 3, 2025 [1][2][3][4]. Users are advised to update their devices to the latest available software versions to mitigate the vulnerability. There is no indication that this issue is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog as of the publication date.