CVE-2025-31228
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe issue was addressed with improved authentication. 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 access notes from the lock screen.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis is an authentication bypass vulnerability in the Notes app on iOS/iPadOS where the lock screen protection was insufficient, allowing an attacker with physical access to view notes without proper authentication. The fix involves improved authentication checks before displaying notes content on the lock screen.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 17.7.7>= 18.0, < 18.5< 18.5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About > Version to see the installed iOS versionAffected if The version is less than 18.5 (for iPhone) or less than 17.7.7 / between 18.0-18.4 (for iPad)
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Check iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About > Version to see the installed iPadOS versionAffected if The version is less than 17.7.7 or between 18.0 and 18.4 inclusive
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Verify Notes password protection is enabledOpen the Notes app, tap a folder, then tap the three-dot menu > Lock Screen or check if notes are set to require a passwordAffected if Password protection is enabled on any notes (the vulnerability bypasses this protection)
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Check if Notes widget exists on lock screenFrom the lock screen, scroll to see if a Notes widget is present on the lock screenAffected if A Notes widget is visible on the lock screen
A device is affected if it runs iOS before 18.5 (or iPadOS before 17.7.7 or between 18.0-18.4) AND has password-protected notes with a Notes widget displayed on the lock screen.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped17.7.718.5
Apply the vendor-supplied patches (iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, or iPadOS 17.7.7) to affected devices. This is a patch deployment rather than a code-level fix, so remediation involves standard mobile device management update procedures.
iOS 18.5 for iPhone; iPadOS 18.5 or iPadOS 17.7.7 for iPad
- Back up your device data using iCloud or Finder/iTunes before updating
- Connect your device to Wi-Fi and power source
- Open the Settings app, tap General, then tap Software Update
- Download and install iOS 18.5 (for iPhone) or iPadOS 18.5/17.7.7 (for iPad) when available
- Alternatively, connect device to computer and update via Finder (macOS Catalina+) or iTunes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-31228 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-31228 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data