CVE-2025-46286VulnerabilityPublished 9 Jan 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-46286: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Restoring from a backup may prevent passcode from being required immediately after Face ID enrollment

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium : upgrade to 26.2 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.2

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 9 Jan 2026
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 2026-10-26.

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

Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to 26.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <26.2	Fixed in 26.2

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-46286, organizations and users should promptly update all affected Apple devices to iOS and iPadOS version 26.2 or later, where the vulnerability has been fixed. Device management policies should enforce timely OS updates and restrict restoration of backups to trusted sources only. IT administrators should audit device restoration procedures to ensure compliance with security policies and consider additional controls such as requiring device encryption and strong passcodes. Physical security controls should be enhanced to prevent unauthorized access to devices, especially during restoration or provisioning phases. For environments with high security requirements, consider disabling automatic backup restoration or implementing multi-factor authentication mechanisms where possible. Monitoring and logging of device restoration events can help detect suspicious activities related to this vulnerability. Finally, educating users about the risks of restoring backups from untrusted sources and the importance of applying security updates is critical.

Description

A logic issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. Restoring from a backup may prevent passcode from being required immediately after Face ID enrollment.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-46286 is a temporary weakening of device security post-backup restoration, where the passcode requirement is delayed after Face ID enrollment. This can allow an attacker with physical access to the device to bypass the passcode prompt momentarily, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data stored on the device. While the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality of user data is at risk during this window. Organizations relying on Apple mobile devices for sensitive communications, data storage, or access to corporate resources could face increased risk of data exposure if devices are restored from backups without applying the patch. This is particularly concerning in environments where devices are frequently restored or reset, such as in IT asset management, device recycling, or incident response scenarios. Although exploitation requires physical access and user interaction (restoring a backup), the low complexity and lack of privilege requirements make it a notable risk for insider threats or opportunistic attackers. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future exploitation.

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
Architecture and Design
Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.apple.com/en-us/125884 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 02:41 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-288

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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