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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28929

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.7 / 15.7.7 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
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5. Replying to an email could display remote images in Mail in Lockdown Mode.

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

A logic flaw in Mail's Lockdown Mode implementation allowed remote images to be loaded when replying to emails, bypassing Apple's privacy protection that normally blocks remote content to prevent tracking. This affects users who rely on Lockdown Mode for enhanced security.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 18.7.9, iPadOS 18.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5) to restore proper Lockdown Mode protection in Mail.

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
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.9
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.7>= 15.0, < 15.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.5

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. Identify your device's operating system version
    On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > About > Software Version. On macOS: Click Apple menu > About This Mac > macOS version.
    Affected if The version is iOS/iPadOS < 18.7.9, or macOS 14.0-14.8.6, 15.0-15.7.6, or 26.0-26.4.
  2. Confirm Lockdown Mode is enabled
    On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode and verify it is turned on. On macOS: Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode and verify it is enabled.
    Affected if Lockdown Mode is currently active on the device.
  3. Check if Mail app is configured and in use
    On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > Mail to confirm the Mail app is set up with at least one account. On macOS: Open the Mail app and verify an account is configured in Mail > Settings > Accounts.
    Affected if Mail is configured with at least one active email account.
  4. Verify Mail privacy settings for remote content
    On iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection and check if 'Protect Mail Activity' is enabled. On macOS: Go to Mail > Settings > Privacy and verify 'Protect Mail Activity' is enabled.
    Affected if Remote content loading is permitted in Mail settings while Lockdown Mode is on.

Your environment is affected if you are running a vulnerable iOS/iPadOS version below 18.7.9 or a vulnerable macOS version (14.x before 14.8.7, 15.x before 15.7.7, or 26.x before 26.5) with Lockdown Mode enabled and Mail configured.

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 14.8.7 / 15.7.7 / 18.7.9 or later
Fixed in 14.8.715.7.718.7.9
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates (iOS 18.7.9, iPadOS 18.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5) to restore proper Lockdown Mode protection in Mail.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.9 / iPadOS 18.7.9 / macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 / macOS Tahoe 26.5

  1. Check the current iOS version on iPhone: Settings > General > About > Version
  2. Check the current iPadOS version on iPad: Settings > General > About > Version
  3. Check the current macOS version: Apple menu > About This Mac
  4. For iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 18.7.9 or iPadOS 18.7.9
  5. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the appropriate update: macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, or macOS Tahoe 26.5 depending on your current version
Caveat Standard iOS/macOS update; may include other security patches but no known breaking changes for this upgrade

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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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-2026-28929 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