---
title: "CVE-2026-86916: Apple iOS & macOS - Use After Free"
description: "Apple iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, and macOS Tahoe 26.7.2 contain a use after free vulnerability caused by improper memory management, letting apps execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, exploit requires malicious app execution."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-86916/
---

# CVE-2026-86916 Apple iOS & macOS - Use After Free

Apple iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, and macOS Tahoe 26.7.2 contain a use after free vulnerability caused by improper memory management, letting apps execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, exploit requires malicious app execution.

CVSS base score 7.8 /10

High

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

Authentication

Required

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86916)

## Details

Type

Use After Free

Impact

Remote Code Execution, Privilege Escalation

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Published

26 October 2026

Updated

27 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-416](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, or macOS Tahoe 26.7.2.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86916](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86916)
- [https://support.apple.com/en-us/149034](https://support.apple.com/en-us/149034)
- [https://support.apple.com/en-us/149035](https://support.apple.com/en-us/149035)
- [https://support.apple.com/en-us/149041](https://support.apple.com/en-us/149041)
- [https://support.apple.com/en-us/149043](https://support.apple.com/en-us/149043)
- [https://support.apple.com/en-us/149522](https://support.apple.com/en-us/149522)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

Panop answers these inside your environment, for this CVE and every other finding.

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