CVE-2025-43520 is a kernel memory corruption vulnerability in Apple operating systems affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. Apple states that the issue was addressed through improved memory handling and that a malicious application may be able to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory. Additional reporting describes the flaw as a kernel-mode race condition in the XNU virtual filesystem implementation that can be exploited to obtain kernel memory read/write primitives or full kernel privileges as part of a broader exploit chain.
Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.
No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
43 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
An iOS kernel memory-corruption vulnerability used in the DarkSword iOS exploit chain.
One of six CVEs in the DarkSword iOS exploit chain affecting older iOS 18 devices and tracked by CISA as actively exploited.
One of six vulnerabilities leveraged by the DarkSword exploit kit targeting iPhones and iPads running iOS 18.x; significant because DarkSword is described as actively exploited and broadly deployed.
One of six iOS vulnerabilities used by the DarkSword exploit kit to target iPhones running iOS 18.4 through 18.7; Apple shipped fixes in security updates and later expanded iOS 18.7.7 availability to protect more devices.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.