CVE-2025-31276
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed through improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9. Remote content may be loaded even when the 'Load Remote Images' setting is turned off.
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 confidenceA state management flaw in iOS/iPadOS allows remote images to be loaded even when the user has disabled the 'Load Remote Images' privacy setting. This bypasses user intent and leaks content the user explicitly wanted to block.
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< 17.7.9>= 18.0, < 18.6< 18.6CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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 versionOpen Settings > General > About > Version. Note the exact version number (e.g., 18.5, 17.7.8).Affected if The version is less than 18.6 for iPhone, or less than 17.7.9 / between 18.0-18.5 for iPadOS.
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Verify Load Remote Images is disabledGo to Settings > Privacy & Security > Show Remote Images (or Settings > Mail > Load Remote Images). Confirm the toggle is OFF.Affected if The setting shows disabled but remote images may still load (this is the flaw).
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Test actual image loading behaviorReceive an email or message containing remote images. Observe whether placeholder images appear or if full images load automatically despite the setting being OFF.Affected if Remote images load and display automatically despite the setting being disabled - this indicates the bypass is active.
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Check network traffic for image requestsUse a network monitoring tool or check Safari/_mail app network activity in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Look for outgoing connections to image hosting domains when receiving content.Affected if Network requests to external image servers occur even with Load Remote Images disabled.
You are affected if your device runs iOS/iPadOS version within the vulnerable range AND remote images load despite having the Load Remote Images privacy setting disabled.
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 · scoped17.7.918.6
Apply the vendor patches: iOS 18.6, iPadOS 18.6, or iPadOS 17.7.9 depending on device model. Verify the 'Load Remote Images' setting correctly blocks remote content after updating.
iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, iPadOS 17.7.9
- Back up your device data before upgrading
- Upgrade iPhone devices to iOS 18.6
- Upgrade iPad devices to iPadOS 18.6 (or iPadOS 17.7.9 if staying on iOS 17)
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
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-31276 — 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-2025-31276 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