CVE-2024-40826VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40826: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An unencrypted document may be written to a temporary file when using print preview

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.1 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.1Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apple iOS and iPadOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-40826, organizations should prioritize updating all affected Apple devices to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia 15 as soon as these versions are available and tested within their environments. Until updates are applied, organizations should restrict local access to devices by enforcing strong physical security controls and device access policies, including biometric or strong passcodes. Limiting the installation of untrusted or unnecessary applications can reduce the risk of malicious apps exploiting the vulnerability. Additionally, organizations should educate users about the risks of sharing devices and the importance of locking devices when not in use. For environments with high sensitivity, consider disabling print preview features or using alternative secure document viewing and printing workflows that do not rely on the vulnerable print preview process. Monitoring device logs and employing endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying unauthorized file access attempts may help detect exploitation attempts. Finally, organizations should review and update their data handling policies to minimize sensitive data exposure on mobile devices.

Description

A privacy issue was addressed with improved handling of files. This issue is fixed in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia 15. An unencrypted document may be written to a temporary file when using print preview.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40826 is the potential exposure of sensitive document content through unencrypted temporary files created during print preview operations on affected Apple devices. For organizations, this could lead to unauthorized disclosure of confidential information if an attacker gains local access to the device or if malicious applications exploit this vulnerability to read temporary files. This risk is particularly significant for enterprises and government agencies handling sensitive or classified documents on iOS and iPadOS devices. While the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach could result in data leaks, compliance violations, and reputational damage. The requirement for local access limits the scope of exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where devices may be shared, lost, or compromised by insiders. The lack of user interaction needed for exploitation means that once local access is obtained, the vulnerability can be leveraged stealthily. Overall, the vulnerability poses a moderate risk to organizations relying on Apple mobile platforms for secure document handling.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Apr 2026, 23:33 UTC

Technical details

References

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