dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28866

MEDIUM · 6.2 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 →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. 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. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.

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

This is a symlink validation vulnerability in Apple operating systems where an application could potentially bypass security restrictions through improperly validated symbolic links. The flaw allows a malicious or compromised app to access sensitive user data by exploiting insufficient validation of symlink targets. The fix involves improved validation logic for symlinks.

MitigationApply the available security updates: iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 depending on the affected device.

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

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Alternatively, connect the device to a computer with iTunes or Finder and check the device info, or use the ideviceinfo command-line tool if available.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 18.7.7, or is 26.0 or higher but less than 26.4
  2. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu and select About This Mac, or run the command 'sw_vers' in Terminal.
    Affected if The version shown is 14.0 or higher but less than 14.8.5, OR 15.0 or higher but less than 15.7.5, OR 26.0 or higher but less than 26.4

A user is affected if their device runs any iOS/iPadOS version below 18.7.7 or between 26.0-26.3, or any macOS version between 14.0-14.8.4, 15.0-15.7.4, or 26.0-26.3.

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 available security updates: iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7 or iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4; macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 or macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 or macOS Tahoe 26.4

  1. Identify your current iOS, iPadOS, or macOS version by going to Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or Apple menu > About This Mac (macOS)
  2. For iPhone or iPad: Upgrade to iOS 18.7.7 or later, or iOS 26.4 / iPadOS 26.4 if your device supports the 26.x series
  3. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 or later, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 or later, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 if applicable
  4. On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update to download and install the update
  5. On macOS: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update to download and install the update
  6. Restart your device after the update is installed
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About to confirm the version number

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

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 locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28866 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-28866 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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