{"id":"CVE-2026-86964","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-86964"],"related":[],"title":"Apple OS: null pointer dereference lets an app crash the system","description":"A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, watchOS 27. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.","summary":"A null pointer dereference in Apple's operating systems can be triggered by an app, causing unexpected system termination. The fix is input validation added in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, tvOS 27, visionOS 27 and watchOS 27.","severity":"unknown","cvss":null,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["apple","infrastructure","ios","ipados","macos","tvos","visionos","watchos"],"not_affected_if":["fully-patched-devices"],"how_to_check":"- Check the installed version under Settings > General > About (iOS and iPadOS) or `sw_vers -productVersion` on macOS; unknown whether the sources list other checks.","fix":"- Update to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, or macOS Golden Gate 27; on macOS Tahoe, update to `26.7.2` or later.","status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-26T21:20:34+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-26T21:55:22+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-26T21:56:45+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-26T21:56:45+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.5,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-26T21:56:45Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"- Update to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, or macOS Golden Gate 27; on macOS Tahoe, update to `26.7.2` or later.","reach":"local","title":"Apple OS: null pointer dereference lets an app crash the system","impact":"low","summary":"A null pointer dereference in Apple's operating systems can be triggered by an app, causing unexpected system termination. The fix is input validation added in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, tvOS 27, visionOS 27 and watchOS 27.","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["apple","ios","macos","ipados","tvos","visionos","watchos"],"confidence":0.5,"needs_auth":"unknown","worst_case":"a crafted app forces unexpected system termination (denial of service)","analyst_note":"Check Apple's security notes for CVE-2026-86964 to confirm the affected versions, the component, and whether any app privilege is needed.","how_to_check":"- Check the installed version under Settings > General > About (iOS and iPadOS) or `sw_vers -productVersion` on macOS; unknown whether the sources list other checks.","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["fully-patched-devices"],"who_is_affected":"Owners of Apple devices running the listed versions are affected, since any installed app may be able to trigger the crash. The sources do not say whether managed or enterprise devices are treated differently. Teams that only run Apple hardware in a fixed, patched state can skip urgent action, but the impact is a crash rather than code execution.","user_interaction":"unknown","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"low"},"cost_usd":0.000642,"input_tokens":3296,"output_tokens":624,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2026':13A,16A '-86964':14A,17A '26.7.2':62B,96C '27':53B,55B,59B,64B,66B,69B,86C,89C,93C,98C,100C,102C 'abl':107C 'add':50B 'address':75C 'app':8A,40B,104C 'appl':1A,18B,31B 'caus':41B,109C 'crash':9A 'cve':12A,15A 'derefer':5A,29B,73C 'fix':46B,83C 'gate':58B,92C 'golden':57B,91C 'improv':77C 'infrastructur':19B 'input':48B,78C 'io':20B,52B,85C 'ipado':21B,54B,88C 'issu':81C 'let':6A 'maco':22B,56B,60B,90C,94C 'may':105C 'null':3A,27B,71C 'oper':33B 'os':2A 'pointer':4A,28B,72C 'system':11A,34B,43B,111C 'taho':61B,95C 'termin':44B,112C 'trigger':37B 'tvos':23B,63B,97C 'unexpect':42B,110C 'valid':49B,79C 'visiono':24B,65B,99C 'watcho':25B,68B,101C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Owners of Apple devices running the listed versions are affected, since any installed app may be able to trigger the crash. The sources do not say whether managed or enterprise devices are treated differently. Teams that only run Apple hardware in a fixed, patched state can skip urgent action, but the impact is a crash rather than code execution.","tier":"C","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-26T21:20:34+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":null,"cvss_by":null,"poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-86964","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86964","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-26T21:20:34+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-26T21:20:34+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-26T21:55:22+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-26T21:55:22+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}