CVE-2026-28918
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 · uneditedAn out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. Parsing a maliciously crafted file may lead to an unexpected app termination.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds access vulnerability in Apple file parsing libraries across iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. Triggered by parsing a maliciously crafted file, leading to unexpected app termination (denial of service). Fixed with improved bounds checking.
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< 26.5< 26.5>= 26.0, < 26.5< 26.5< 26.5< 26.5CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS or iPadOS versionOn the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number shown next to 'Version'Affected if the version is lower than 26.5 (for example, 26.4.x or earlier)
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Check macOS versionClick the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select 'About This Mac', and note the version number shown under the macOS nameAffected if the version is 26.0 or later but lower than 26.5 (for example, 26.0, 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, or 26.4)
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Check tvOS versionOn Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the version numberAffected if the version is lower than 26.5
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Check visionOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on the Vision Pro device and note the version numberAffected if the version is lower than 26.5
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Check watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the version numberAffected if the version is lower than 26.5
You are affected if any Apple device running iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26.0-26.4, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS has an installed version lower than 26.5 and parses files from untrusted sources.
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 · scoped26.5
Apply vendor-supplied updates: iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5. Avoid opening files from untrusted sources until patches are applied.
iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5
- Upgrade iPadOS to version 26.5 or later
- Upgrade iPhone OS (iOS) to version 26.5 or later
- Upgrade macOS to version 26.5 (Tahoe) or later
- Upgrade tvOS to version 26.5 or later
- Upgrade visionOS to version 26.5 or later
- Upgrade watchOS to version 26.5 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2026-28918 — 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-2026-28918 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