dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28865

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.7 and iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4. An attacker in a privileged network position may be able to intercept network traffic.

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 confidence

Authentication state management flaw in Apple operating systems allows a man-in-the-middle attacker on the same network to intercept traffic by improperly handling authentication state transitions. The vulnerability is fixed in the listed point releases across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security update for your device: iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7 or iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5/Sonoma 14.8.5/Tahoe 26.4, or the corresponding tvOS/visionOS/watchOS versions.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.4
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.5>= 15.0, < 15.7.5>= 26.0, < 26.4
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 26.4
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.4
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 26.4

CVSS 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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the device
    Affected if The version is less than 18.7.7 or greater than or equal to 26.0 but less than 26.4
  2. Identify your macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version
    Affected if The version is 14.0 or greater but less than 14.8.5, OR 15.0 or greater but less than 15.7.5, OR 26.0 or greater but less than 26.4
  3. Identify your tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS version
    For tvOS: Settings > General > About > Version. For visionOS: Settings > General > About > Version. For watchOS: On paired iPhone, open Watch app > My Watch > General > About
    Affected if For tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS: the version is less than 26.4
  4. Assess network exposure
    Determine whether the device connects to untrusted or shared networks (such as public Wi-Fi) where a man-in-the-middle attacker could be present
    Affected if The device regularly connects to networks with untrusted or unknown users on the same network segment

You are affected if your Apple device runs an OS version that falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges AND the device is used on networks where an attacker could intercept traffic.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 / 18.7.7 or later
Fixed in 14.8.515.7.518.7.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security update for your device: iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7 or iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5/Sonoma 14.8.5/Tahoe 26.4, or the corresponding tvOS/visionOS/watchOS versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.7 / iPadOS 18.7.7 / iOS 26.4 / iPadOS 26.4 / macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 / macOS Tahoe 26.4 / tvOS 26.4 / visionOS 26.4 / watchOS 26.4

  1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch)
  2. Determine the current installed OS version from Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS/visionOS) or System Settings > General > About (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: If running iOS/iPadOS < 18.7.7, upgrade to 18.7.7; if running >= 26.0 and < 26.4, upgrade to 26.4
  4. For Mac: If running macOS Sonoma (14.x) < 14.8.5, upgrade to 14.8.5; if running macOS Sequoia (15.x) < 15.7.5, upgrade to 15.7.5; if running macOS Tahoe (26.x) < 26.4, upgrade to 26.4
  5. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 26.4
  6. For Apple Vision Pro: Upgrade to visionOS 26.4
  7. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 26.4
  8. Perform upgrade via Settings > General > Software Update (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS/visionOS) or System Settings > General > Software Update (macOS)
Caveat Standard Apple OS upgrade considerations: backup data before upgrading, ensure compatible hardware, review app compatibility

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-28865 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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