CVE-2025-31216VulnerabilityPublished 21 Nov 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-31216: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An attacker with physical access to a device may be able to override managed Wi-Fi profiles

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 2.4 Low · fixed in 18.5 : update Apple iOS and iPadOS when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

2.4Low

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 18.5

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Physical: The attack requires the attacker to physically touch or manipulate the vulnerable component. Physical interaction may be brief or persistent.
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Nov 2025
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 2026-10-25.

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-2025-31216, organizations should: 1) Promptly update all affected Apple devices to iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, or iPadOS 17.7.7 or later versions that include the fix. 2) Enforce strict physical security controls to prevent unauthorized physical access to devices, including secure storage and device tracking. 3) Implement device management policies that restrict the ability to modify network profiles without proper authorization and monitor for unauthorized profile changes. 4) Use Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce Wi-Fi profile integrity and detect anomalies. 5) Educate users about the risks of leaving devices unattended and the importance of reporting lost or stolen devices immediately. 6) Consider additional network-level protections such as network access control (NAC) to detect and block unauthorized devices or connections. 7) Regularly audit device configurations and network profiles to ensure compliance with organizational policies. These steps go beyond generic patching by emphasizing physical security, monitoring, and policy enforcement to reduce the risk of exploitation.

Description

The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, iPadOS 17.7.7. An attacker with physical access to a device may be able to override managed Wi-Fi profiles.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-31216 is on the availability and reliability of network connectivity for affected Apple devices. An attacker with physical access could override managed Wi-Fi profiles, causing devices to connect to unauthorized or malicious networks or lose connectivity to trusted enterprise networks. This disruption can hinder productivity, device management, and access to critical resources. Although the vulnerability does not directly compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the ability to redirect devices to rogue networks could facilitate secondary attacks such as man-in-the-middle or network reconnaissance. Organizations with large deployments of Apple devices using managed Wi-Fi profiles are at risk of operational disruption if devices are physically accessible to attackers. The requirement for physical access limits remote exploitation but raises concerns in environments where devices are shared, lost, or temporarily unattended. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but unpatched devices remain vulnerable to potential future attacks. Overall, the impact is low but non-negligible for organizations relying on managed network configurations for security and operational continuity.

CWE-284Improper Access Control (opens in a new tab)
Pillar weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #19OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Operation
Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Virtual Patching (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.10.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Embedding Scripts within Scripts (opens in a new tab)
Modification of Windows Service Configuration (opens in a new tab)
Malicious Root Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Intent Spoof (opens in a new tab)
WebView Exposure (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 01:22 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-284

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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