VulnerabilityPublished 14 Sep 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-28966: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Out-of-bounds Write

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium : upgrade to 27 or 26.7 when convenient.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:15 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CISA-ADP	CVSS 3.1	4.3

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 35% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 27, 26.7, 15.8

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

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

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: 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 14 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 29 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 iOS and iPadOS to 27 or 26.7; macOS to 27, 26.7 or 15.8; tvOS and visionOS to 27.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <27	Fixed in 27
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <26.7	Fixed in 26.7
ApplemacOS	Affected <27	Fixed in 27
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.7	Fixed in 26.7
ApplemacOS	Affected <15.8	Fixed in 15.8
AppletvOS	Affected <27	Fixed in 27

AI-suggested

Apply the official fixes by upgrading to iOS 26.7 or later, iPadOS 26.7 or later, or the corresponding fixed versions of macOS and other Apple operating systems as listed. Since fixed versions are available, updating to these versions fully mitigates the vulnerability.

Description

CVE-2026-28966 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple iOS and iPadOS that may cause unexpected app termination when processing a maliciously crafted file. The issue has been addressed with improved bounds checking and fixed in iOS 26.7 and later, iPadOS 26.7 and later, and macOS versions including Golden Gate 27, Sequoia 15.8, and Tahoe 26.7. The vulnerability has a medium severity rating with a CVSS score of 4.3.

Impact

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to denial of service through unexpected termination of affected applications. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

Summary

This vulnerability involves an out-of-bounds write due to insufficient bounds checking when processing certain files on Apple iOS and iPadOS platforms. Exploiting this flaw can cause an application to terminate unexpectedly. Apple has fixed the issue in iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27 by improving bounds checking to prevent the out-of-bounds write condition.

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #5
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-787

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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