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The vulnerability stems from improper lock state checking in the shared memory subsystem of Apple’s XNU kernel and its inter‑process communication (IPC) primitives. Specifically, when two or more processes map a shared memory region, the kernel uses locks to serialize access to internal metadata (e.g., memory entries, reference counters). A flaw in the locking logic allows a malicious application to manipulate the state of a lock while another process is simultaneously accessing the same shared region, leading to a race condition. By carefully timing its operations, the attacker can cause the kernel to release a memory descriptor before all references are properly dropped (use‑after‑free) or to corrupt reference counts, resulting in memory corruption. The issue exists because the lock state is not consistently re‑checked after certain kernel operations, allowing a malicious process to alter the shared memory mapping in an unexpected way. This can corrupt kernel‑level data structures or cause the kernel to mistakenly treat a freed memory region as valid. Once memory corruption occurs, an attacker can leverage it to overwrite critical kernel data, escalate privileges, or break out of the sandbox. The flaw is present in multiple Apple operating systems because the vulnerable shared memory code is shared across the codebases. Patches introduced in the listed versions enforce atomic lock‑state validation before and after each operation, eliminating the race window.
Platform: Apple multiple OS
Version: 18.7.2/26.1/14.8.2
Vulnerability: Memory corruption issue
Severity: Critical
date: March 23 2026
Prediction: Already patched (April)
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What Undercode Say:
Check affected kernel extension (example)
kextstat | grep com.apple.security
Verify shared memory lock state via sysctl
sysctl kern.ipc.shm_use_phys
Monitor for abnormal shared memory segments
ipcs -m | awk '$6 == 0 {print}'
Parse system logs for memory corruption warnings
log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "memory corruption"' --last 24h
How Exploit:
An attacker first identifies a shared memory region between a privileged daemon and a sandboxed app. By repeatedly triggering a specific IPC call while racing with the daemon’s access to the region, the malicious app forces the kernel to mishandle a lock. A successful exploit corrupts a reference counter, freeing the memory while still in use. The attacker then reclaims the freed memory with controlled data, achieving arbitrary kernel‑mode code execution.
Protection from this CVE:
- Apply the vendor patches listed in the Apple security updates.
- Restrict execution of untrusted applications on unpatched systems.
- Enable System Integrity Protection (SIP) and sandboxing to limit exploit capabilities.
- Use endpoint detection rules that monitor for abnormal shared memory activity.
Impact:
Successful exploitation allows a malicious application to arbitrarily modify memory shared between processes, leading to kernel memory corruption, privilege escalation, full system compromise, and potential data theft. The attacker can escape sandbox restrictions and execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
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Sources:
Reported By: www.cve.org
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