IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28873

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.7.9 / 26.4 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
This issue was addressed with additional entitlement checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4. An app may be able to circumvent App Privacy Report logging.

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 confidence

This vulnerability allows an application to bypass App Privacy Report logging on iOS/iPadOS through missing or insufficient entitlement checks. App Privacy Report is a privacy monitoring feature that tracks when apps access sensitive data like location, contacts, and photos. The fix implements additional entitlement validation to prevent this circumvention.

MitigationApply the iOS/iPadOS system updates (iOS 18.7.9, iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4 or later) to devices within the organization to receive the entitlement check fixes.

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:< 18.7.9>= 26.0, < 26.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.9>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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/iPadOS version
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the device, or use Apple Configurator, MDM, or the device's System Preferences to retrieve the installed iOS/iPadOS version number.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 18.7.9, or is 26.0 or higher but less than 26.4.
  2. Verify App Privacy Report status
    Navigate to Settings > Privacy > App Privacy Report on the device. Check whether the feature is currently enabled or has been enabled previously.
    Affected if App Privacy Report is or was enabled on the device (the bypass undermines this privacy monitoring feature when it is in use).

The device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS version less than 18.7.9 or version 26.0 through 26.3, and App Privacy Report is or was active.

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 18.7.9 / 26.4 or later
Fixed in 18.7.926.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the iOS/iPadOS system updates (iOS 18.7.9, iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4 or later) to devices within the organization to receive the entitlement check fixes.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, or iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4 (depending on device model)

  1. Back up your device data to iCloud or your computer using Finder/iTunes before updating
  2. Connect your device to Wi-Fi and ensure the battery is charged above 50% or connected to power
  3. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad
  4. Navigate to General > Software Update
  5. Download and install the available iOS 18.7.9 or iPadOS 18.7.9 update (or iOS 26.4/iPadOS 26.4 for newer devices)
  6. Wait for the update to complete and the device to restart
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About and confirming the version number
Caveat Standard iOS updates typically have minimal breaking changes; ensure backups are current before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-28873 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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