dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28959

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 buffer overflow was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5. An app may be able to cause unexpected system 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Apple operating systems that allows a malicious application to trigger unexpected system termination (denial of service). The issue was addressed through improved bounds checking, indicating insufficient input validation when handling data in memory.

MitigationApply the available security updates: iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5.

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, < 26.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.9>= 26.0, < 26.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.7>= 15.0, < 15.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 26.5
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 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
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 Apple operating system
    Determine which Apple OS is running: iOS (iPhone), iPadOS (iPad), macOS (Mac computer), tvOS (Apple TV), visionOS (Apple Vision Pro), or watchOS (Apple Watch). Check the device or system settings to confirm the OS type.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS).
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version to see the installed version. Alternatively, connect the device to a computer with iTunes or Finder to view the version information.
    Affected if The version is less than 18.7.9, or greater than or equal to 26.0 but less than 26.5.
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number will be displayed (for example, 15.7.6 or 14.8.6). You can also run 'sw_vers' in Terminal to get the exact version and build number.
    Affected if The version is 14.0 or higher but less than 14.8.7, OR 15.0 or higher but less than 15.7.7, OR 26.0 or higher but less than 26.5.
  4. Check tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Apple Watch, open the Settings app on the watch (or via iPhone Watch app) and go to General > About > Version.
    Affected if The version is less than 26.5.

You are affected if your device runs any of the listed Apple operating systems and the installed version falls within any of the vulnerable version ranges specified for that product.

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 and iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.9 / iOS 26.5, iPadOS 18.7.9 / iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 / macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5

  1. For iPhone and iPad users: Upgrade to iOS 18.7.9 and iPadOS 18.7.9 (for older major versions) or iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 (for 26.x versions) via Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For macOS users: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 (for 14.x), macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 (for 15.x), or macOS Tahoe 26.5 (for 26.x) via System Settings > General > Software Update
  3. For tvOS users: Upgrade to tvOS 26.5 via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For visionOS users: Upgrade to visionOS 26.5 via Settings > General > Software Update
  5. For watchOS users: Upgrade to watchOS 26.5 via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28959 — 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-2026-28959 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