Process-memory corruption via AppleJPEGXL use-after-free
Published May 11, 2026 · Updated May 11, 2026
Use-after-free in AppleJPEG across affected Apple operating systems allows attackers to corrupt process memory via a crafted JXL media file. The AppleJPEGXL low-memory rendering path repeatedly frees pipeline-plane storage and later reallocates overlapping live objects from the corrupted heap. A user or application must process the file; the public reproducer demonstrates nondeterministic application crashes and heap corruption, not reliable code execution.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in AppleJPEG across affected Apple operating systems allows attackers to corrupt process memory via a crafted JXL media file. The AppleJPEGXL low-memory rendering path repeatedly frees pipeline-plane storage and later reallocates overlapping live objects from the corrupted heap. A user or application must process the file; the public reproducer demonstrates nondeterministic application crashes and heap corruption, not reliable code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-28956
- Published
- May 11, 2026
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- iOS and iPadOS
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <26.5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
- impost0r AppleJPEGXL proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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