CVE-2025-43428
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 · uneditedA configuration issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, visionOS 26.2. Photos in the Hidden Photos Album may be viewed without authentication.
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 · moderate confidenceA configuration issue in Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS allowed photos stored in the Hidden Photos Album to be accessed without requiring authentication. The vulnerability was addressed by implementing additional restrictions in version 26.2 of the affected operating systems.
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< 26.2< 26.2< 26.2< 26.2CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 your iOS or iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About and look at the version numberAffected if The version is less than 26.2 (for example, 26.1.x or earlier)
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Check your macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac and look at the version numberAffected if The version is less than 26.2 (for example, 26.1.x or earlier)
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Check your visionOS versionGo to Settings > General > About and look at the version numberAffected if The version is less than 26.2 (for example, 26.1.x or earlier)
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Determine if you use the Hidden Photos AlbumOpen the Photos app and navigate to Albums > Hidden to see if you have any photos stored in the Hidden albumAffected if You have photos stored in the Hidden Photos Album on a device running a version below 26.2
You are affected if your device runs any version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or visionOS prior to 26.2 and you have photos stored in the Hidden Photos Album, as those photos could be accessed without authentication.
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 · scoped26.2
Update affected devices to iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, or visionOS 26.2. Ensure the Hidden Photos Album feature continues to require authentication after the update.
iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, visionOS 26.2
- Ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and has sufficient battery or is plugged into power
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update on iPhone, iPad, or visionOS device
- On macOS, go to System Settings > General > Software Update
- Download and install the available update
- After installation, verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About to confirm the version number matches 26.2 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2025-43428 — 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-2025-43428 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