diff --git a/.changes/fix-state-manager-unsoundness.md b/.changes/fix-state-manager-unsoundness.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f1281bf41f1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/fix-state-manager-unsoundness.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+tauri: 'minor:bug'
+---
+
+Fix `use-after-free` unsoundness for using `State::inner` after `Manager::unmanage`, see tauri-apps/tauri#12721 for details.
diff --git a/bench/tests/files_transfer/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/bench/tests/files_transfer/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index 3563d86850bf..a0a81e15497d 100644
--- a/bench/tests/files_transfer/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/bench/tests/files_transfer/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ fn app_should_close(exit_code: i32) {
 #[command]
 async fn read_file<R: Runtime>(app: AppHandle<R>) -> Result<Response, String> {
   let path = app
-    .path()
+    .path_arc()
     .resolve(".tauri_3mb.json", BaseDirectory::Home)
     .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
   let contents = read(path).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/app.rs b/crates/tauri/src/app.rs
index 57fc7a00ac56..de9dd9d6b80e 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/app.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/app.rs
@@ -1981,7 +1981,7 @@ tauri::Builder::default()
       if let crate::utils::config::WebviewInstallMode::FixedRuntime { path } =
         &app.manager.config().bundle.windows.webview_install_mode
       {
-        if let Ok(resource_dir) = app.path().resource_dir() {
+        if let Ok(resource_dir) = app.path_arc().resource_dir() {
           std::env::set_var(
             "WEBVIEW2_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_FOLDER",
             resource_dir.join(path),
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/ipc/authority.rs b/crates/tauri/src/ipc/authority.rs
index 3a0985f87699..2af6df501325 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/ipc/authority.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/ipc/authority.rs
@@ -854,7 +854,7 @@ impl ScopeManager {
     key: &str,
   ) -> crate::Result<ScopeValue<T>> {
     match self.global_scope_cache.try_get::<ScopeValue<T>>() {
-      Some(cached) => Ok(cached.inner().clone()),
+      Some(cached) => Ok((*cached).clone()),
       None => {
         let mut allow = Vec::new();
         let mut deny = Vec::new();
@@ -891,7 +891,7 @@ impl ScopeManager {
   ) -> crate::Result<ScopeValue<T>> {
     let cache = self.command_cache.get(key).unwrap();
     match cache.try_get::<ScopeValue<T>>() {
-      Some(cached) => Ok(cached.inner().clone()),
+      Some(cached) => Ok((*cached).clone()),
       None => {
         let resolved_scope = self
           .command_scope
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/lib.rs b/crates/tauri/src/lib.rs
index 44d29258ac3e..8e5bd36419d7 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ use std::{
   borrow::Cow,
   collections::HashMap,
   fmt::{self, Debug},
-  sync::MutexGuard,
+  sync::{Arc, MutexGuard},
 };
 use utils::assets::{AssetKey, CspHash, EmbeddedAssets};
 
@@ -710,12 +710,33 @@ pub trait Manager<R: Runtime>: sealed::ManagerBase<R> {
     self.manager().state().set(state)
   }
 
-  /// Removes the state managed by the application for T. Returns the state if it was actually removed.
+  /// Removes the state managed by the application for T. Returns the state if it was actually removed and no other [Arc] clones exist.
+  ///
+  /// <div class="warning">
+  ///
+  /// To fix [tauri-apps/tauri#12721], the internal structure of [State] changed in version `2.3`.
+  /// So This method is equivalent to [Manager::unmanage_arc] and [Arc::into_inner] now,
+  /// which means that even if the state is actually removed, this method will return None if there are other Arc clones of the state.
+  /// Please refer to [[Arc::into_inner]] for details.
+  ///
+  /// [tauri-apps/tauri#12721]: https://github.com/tauri-apps/tauri/issues/12721
+  ///
+  /// </div>
+  #[deprecated(since = "2.3.0", note = "use `unmanage_arc` instead")]
   fn unmanage<T>(&self) -> Option<T>
   where
     T: Send + Sync + 'static,
   {
-    self.manager().state().unmanage()
+    let state = self.unmanage_arc::<T>()?;
+    Arc::into_inner(state)
+  }
+
+  /// Removes the state managed by the application for T. Returns the state if it was actually removed.
+  fn unmanage_arc<T>(&self) -> Option<Arc<T>>
+  where
+    T: Send + Sync + 'static,
+  {
+    self.manager().state().unmanage_arc()
   }
 
   /// Retrieves the managed state for the type `T`.
@@ -750,20 +771,33 @@ pub trait Manager<R: Runtime>: sealed::ManagerBase<R> {
 
   /// Gets the managed [`Env`].
   fn env(&self) -> Env {
-    self.state::<Env>().inner().clone()
+    (*self.state::<Env>()).clone()
   }
 
   /// Gets the scope for the asset protocol.
   #[cfg(feature = "protocol-asset")]
   fn asset_protocol_scope(&self) -> scope::fs::Scope {
-    self.state::<Scopes>().inner().asset_protocol.clone()
+    self.state::<Scopes>().asset_protocol.clone()
   }
 
-  /// The path resolver.
+  /// The path resolver.(deprecated)
+  /// 
+  /// <div class="warning">
+  ///
+  /// This method will cause a memory leak, See [State::inner] for details.
+  ///
+  /// </div>
+  #[deprecated(since = "2.3.0", note = "use `Manager::path_arc` instead")]
   fn path(&self) -> &crate::path::PathResolver<R> {
+    #[expect(deprecated)]
     self.state::<crate::path::PathResolver<R>>().inner()
   }
 
+  /// The path resolver.
+  fn path_arc(&self) -> Arc<crate::path::PathResolver<R>> {
+    self.state::<crate::path::PathResolver<R>>().into_inner()
+  }
+
   /// Adds a capability to the app.
   ///
   /// Note that by default every capability file in the `src-tauri/capabilities` folder
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/manager/webview.rs b/crates/tauri/src/manager/webview.rs
index 8bade86ebde2..4767560f2e53 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/manager/webview.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/manager/webview.rs
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ impl<R: Runtime> WebviewManager<R> {
     // but we do respect user-specification
     #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "windows"))]
     if pending.webview_attributes.data_directory.is_none() {
-      let local_app_data = manager.path().resolve(
+      let local_app_data = manager.path_arc().resolve(
         &app_manager.config.identifier,
         crate::path::BaseDirectory::LocalData,
       );
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/scope/fs.rs b/crates/tauri/src/scope/fs.rs
index 31829f224fec..8045b14f6457 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/scope/fs.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/scope/fs.rs
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ impl Scope {
   ) -> crate::Result<Self> {
     let mut allowed_patterns = HashSet::new();
     for path in scope.allowed_paths() {
-      if let Ok(path) = manager.path().parse(path) {
+      if let Ok(path) = manager.path_arc().parse(path) {
         push_pattern(&mut allowed_patterns, path, Pattern::new)?;
       }
     }
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ impl Scope {
     let mut forbidden_patterns = HashSet::new();
     if let Some(forbidden_paths) = scope.forbidden_paths() {
       for path in forbidden_paths {
-        if let Ok(path) = manager.path().parse(path) {
+        if let Ok(path) = manager.path_arc().parse(path) {
           push_pattern(&mut forbidden_patterns, path, Pattern::new)?;
         }
       }
diff --git a/crates/tauri/src/state.rs b/crates/tauri/src/state.rs
index 2f1092e6ce02..b49465dee27a 100644
--- a/crates/tauri/src/state.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri/src/state.rs
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@
 
 use std::{
   any::{Any, TypeId},
-  cell::UnsafeCell,
   collections::HashMap,
   hash::BuildHasherDefault,
-  sync::Mutex,
+  marker::PhantomData,
+  ops::Deref,
+  sync::{Arc, Mutex},
 };
 
 use crate::{
@@ -15,33 +16,62 @@ use crate::{
   Runtime,
 };
 
+type Wrapper<T> = Arc<T>;
+
 /// A guard for a state value.
 ///
 /// See [`Manager::manage`](`crate::Manager::manage`) for usage examples.
-pub struct State<'r, T: Send + Sync + 'static>(&'r T);
+pub struct State<'r, T: Send + Sync + 'static>(
+  Wrapper<T>,
+  // 👇 TODO: just for 2.x semantic compatibility, we can't remove `'r` for now
+  PhantomData<&'r ()>,
+);
 
 impl<'r, T: Send + Sync + 'static> State<'r, T> {
   /// Retrieve a borrow to the underlying value with a lifetime of `'r`.
   /// Using this method is typically unnecessary as `State` implements
   /// [`std::ops::Deref`] with a [`std::ops::Deref::Target`] of `T`.
+  ///
+  /// <div class="warning">
+  ///
+  /// To fix [tauri-apps/tauri#12721], the internal structure of [State] changed in version `2.3`.
+  /// So This method is equivalent to [Self::into_inner] and [Arc::into_raw] now, which means it may cause memory leaks.
+  /// Please refer to [[Arc::into_raw]] for related limitations.
+  ///
+  /// [tauri-apps/tauri#12721]: https://github.com/tauri-apps/tauri/issues/12721
+  ///
+  /// </div>
   #[inline(always)]
+  #[deprecated(
+    since = "2.3.0",
+    note = "will cause memory leak, use `into_inner` or `Deref::deref` instead"
+  )]
   pub fn inner(&self) -> &'r T {
+    let ptr = Arc::into_raw(self.0.clone());
+    // SAFETY: this ptr is valid, because we just created it;
+    // and the lifetime is 'static (it's leaked), so it's safe to return it.
+    unsafe { &*ptr }
+  }
+
+  /// Retrieve the inner value of the [State].
+  /// For `2.0` semantic compatibility, we cannot directly return [Arc<T>] in [crate::Manager::state].
+  pub fn into_inner(self) -> Arc<T> {
     self.0
   }
 }
 
-impl<T: Send + Sync + 'static> std::ops::Deref for State<'_, T> {
+impl<T: Send + Sync + 'static> Deref for State<'_, T> {
   type Target = T;
 
   #[inline(always)]
   fn deref(&self) -> &T {
-    self.0
+    Deref::deref(&self.0)
   }
 }
 
 impl<T: Send + Sync + 'static> Clone for State<'_, T> {
   fn clone(&self) -> Self {
-    State(self.0)
+    State(Wrapper::clone(&self.0), PhantomData)
   }
 }
 
@@ -97,12 +127,13 @@ impl std::hash::Hasher for IdentHash {
   }
 }
 
-type TypeIdMap = HashMap<TypeId, Box<dyn Any>, BuildHasherDefault<IdentHash>>;
+/// The `key` must equal to `value.type_id()`, see the safety doc in methods of [StateManager] for details.
+type TypeIdMap = HashMap<TypeId, Box<dyn Any + Sync + Send>, BuildHasherDefault<IdentHash>>;
 
 /// The Tauri state manager.
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct StateManager {
-  map: Mutex<UnsafeCell<TypeIdMap>>,
+  map: Mutex<TypeIdMap>,
 }
 
 // SAFETY: data is accessed behind a lock
@@ -116,37 +147,32 @@ impl StateManager {
     }
   }
 
-  fn with_map_ref<'a, F: FnOnce(&'a TypeIdMap) -> R, R>(&'a self, f: F) -> R {
-    let map = self.map.lock().unwrap();
-    let map = map.get();
-    // SAFETY: safe to access since we are holding a lock
-    f(unsafe { &*map })
-  }
-
-  fn with_map_mut<F: FnOnce(&mut TypeIdMap) -> R, R>(&self, f: F) -> R {
-    let mut map = self.map.lock().unwrap();
-    let map = map.get_mut();
-    f(map)
-  }
-
   pub(crate) fn set<T: Send + Sync + 'static>(&self, state: T) -> bool {
-    self.with_map_mut(|map| {
-      let type_id = TypeId::of::<T>();
-      let already_set = map.contains_key(&type_id);
-      if !already_set {
-        map.insert(type_id, Box::new(state) as Box<dyn Any>);
-      }
-      !already_set
-    })
+    let mut map = self.map.lock().unwrap();
+    let type_id = TypeId::of::<Wrapper<T>>();
+    let already_set = map.contains_key(&type_id);
+    if !already_set {
+      map.insert(
+        type_id,
+        // SAFETY: keep the type of the key is the same as the type of the value，
+        // see following methods for details.
+        Box::new(Wrapper::new(state)) as Box<dyn Any + Sync + Send>,
+      );
+    }
+    !already_set
   }
 
-  pub(crate) fn unmanage<T: Send + Sync + 'static>(&self) -> Option<T> {
-    self.with_map_mut(|map| {
-      let type_id = TypeId::of::<T>();
-      map
-        .remove(&type_id)
-        .and_then(|ptr| ptr.downcast().ok().map(|b| *b))
-    })
+  pub(crate) fn unmanage_arc<T: Send + Sync + 'static>(&self) -> Option<Arc<T>> {
+    let mut map = self.map.lock().unwrap();
+    let type_id = TypeId::of::<Wrapper<T>>();
+    let ptr = map.remove(&type_id)?;
+    let value = unsafe {
+      ptr
+        .downcast::<Wrapper<T>>()
+        // SAFETY: the type of the key is the same as the type of the value
+        .unwrap_unchecked()
+    };
+    Some(*value)
   }
 
   /// Gets the state associated with the specified type.
@@ -158,12 +184,16 @@ impl StateManager {
 
   /// Gets the state associated with the specified type.
   pub fn try_get<T: Send + Sync + 'static>(&self) -> Option<State<'_, T>> {
-    self.with_map_ref(|map| {
-      map
-        .get(&TypeId::of::<T>())
-        .and_then(|ptr| ptr.downcast_ref::<T>())
-        .map(State)
-    })
+    let map = self.map.lock().unwrap();
+    let type_id = TypeId::of::<Wrapper<T>>();
+    let ptr = map.get(&type_id)?;
+    let value = unsafe {
+      ptr
+        .downcast_ref::<Wrapper<T>>()
+        // SAFETY: the type of the key is the same as the type of the value
+        .unwrap_unchecked()
+    };
+    Some(State(Wrapper::clone(value), PhantomData))
   }
 }
 
@@ -197,8 +227,8 @@ mod tests {
     let state = StateManager::new();
     assert!(state.set(1u32));
     assert_eq!(*state.get::<u32>(), 1);
-    assert!(state.unmanage::<u32>().is_some());
-    assert!(state.unmanage::<u32>().is_none());
+    assert!(state.unmanage_arc::<u32>().is_some());
+    assert!(state.unmanage_arc::<u32>().is_none());
     assert_eq!(state.try_get::<u32>(), None);
     assert!(state.set(2u32));
     assert_eq!(*state.get::<u32>(), 2);
diff --git a/examples/api/src-tauri/tauri-plugin-sample/src/lib.rs b/examples/api/src-tauri/tauri-plugin-sample/src/lib.rs
index db923fa129a0..d4e85198385c 100644
--- a/examples/api/src-tauri/tauri-plugin-sample/src/lib.rs
+++ b/examples/api/src-tauri/tauri-plugin-sample/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
 use serde::Deserialize;
-use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::{path::PathBuf, sync::Arc};
 use tauri::{
   plugin::{Builder, TauriPlugin},
   Manager, Runtime,
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ pub use error::*;
 
 /// Extensions to [`tauri::App`], [`tauri::AppHandle`] and [`tauri::Window`] to access the sample APIs.
 pub trait SampleExt<R: Runtime> {
-  fn sample(&self) -> &Sample<R>;
+  fn sample(&self) -> Arc<Sample<R>>;
 }
 
 impl<R: Runtime, T: Manager<R>> crate::SampleExt<R> for T {
-  fn sample(&self) -> &Sample<R> {
-    self.state::<Sample<R>>().inner()
+  fn sample(&self) -> Arc<Sample<R>> {
+    self.state::<Sample<R>>().into_inner()
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/examples/resources/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/examples/resources/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index 42640ce61de1..047876cefe29 100644
--- a/examples/resources/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/examples/resources/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ fn main() {
   tauri::Builder::default()
     .setup(move |app| {
       let path = app
-        .path()
+        .path_arc()
         .resolve("assets/index.js", tauri::path::BaseDirectory::Resource)
         .unwrap();