CVE-2026-86881: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An attacker with a compromised intermediate certificate authority may be able to issue certificates
Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.1 Critical : upgrade to 27 or 26.7 as a priority.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 12:04 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CISA-ADP | CVSS 3.1 | 9.1 |
|---|
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 33% 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:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: evidence found.
Public exploit code: GitHub proofs of concept
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), GitHub proofs of concept, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade iOS and iPadOS to 27 or 26.7; macOS to 27, 26.7 or 15.8; tvOS and visionOS and watchOS to 27.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| AppleiOS and iPadOS | Affected
| Fixed in
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| AppleiOS and iPadOS | Affected
| Fixed in
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| ApplemacOS | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| ApplemacOS | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| ApplemacOS | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| AppletvOS | Affected
| Fixed in
|
AI-suggested
This vulnerability is fixed in iOS 26.7 and 27, iPadOS 26.7 and 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27. Users and administrators should update affected Apple operating systems to these versions or later to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation steps are indicated by the vendor advisory.
Description
CVE-2026-86881 is a critical certificate validation vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The flaw allows an attacker with control over a compromised intermediate certificate authority to issue certificates with arbitrary extended key usages. This issue has been addressed with improved certificate validation in iOS 26.7 and 27, iPadOS 26.7 and 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7, tvOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27.
References
- support.apple.com/en-us/149034 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149035 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149036 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149037 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149038 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149041 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149042 (opens in a new tab)
- support.apple.com/en-us/149043 (opens in a new tab)