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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28994

MEDIUM · 5.3 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 →
58/100
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
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. 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, watchOS 26.5. An attacker in a privileged network position may be able to perform denial-of-service attack using crafted Wi-Fi packets.

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 use-after-free vulnerability in Apple's Wi-Fi stack allows an attacker with privileged network position to send crafted Wi-Fi packets causing a denial-of-service condition. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during Wi-Fi packet processing.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 18.7.9/iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5/iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5. Prioritize updating devices with direct network exposure.

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
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
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/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. Check iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPad and note the version number
    Affected if The version is earlier than 18.7.9, or between 26.0 and 26.5 (excluding 26.5)
  2. Check iPhone OS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPhone and note the version number
    Affected if The version is earlier than 18.7.9, or between 26.0 and 26.5 (excluding 26.5)
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number under macOS
    Affected if The version is 14.0 to 14.8.6, 15.0 to 15.7.6, or 26.0 to 26.4
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV
    Affected if The version is earlier than 26.5
  5. Check watchOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple Watch via the Watch app on iPhone
    Affected if The version is earlier than 26.5

If the device runs any of the affected Apple OS versions and has Wi-Fi enabled, it is vulnerable to the use-after-free flaw in the Wi-Fi stack.

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 vendor-supplied updates: iOS 18.7.9/iPadOS 18.7.9, iOS 26.5/iPadOS 26.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and watchOS 26.5. Prioritize updating devices with direct network exposure.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.9 / iPadOS 18.7.9 for iOS 18.x; iOS 26.5 / iPadOS 26.5 for iOS 26.x; macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 for macOS 14.x; macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 for macOS 15.x; macOS Tahoe 26.5 for macOS 26.x; tvOS 26.5; watchOS 26.5

  1. Identify your Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
  2. Check current OS version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings > About (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Upgrade to iOS 18.7.9 / iPadOS 18.7.9 (if on iOS 18.x) OR iOS 26.5 / iPadOS 26.5 (if on iOS 26.x)
  4. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 (if on macOS 14.x), macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 (if on macOS 15.x), or macOS Tahoe 26.5 (if on macOS 26.x)
  5. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 26.5
  6. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 26.5
  7. Install the update via Settings > General > Software Update (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS) or System Settings > Software Update (macOS)
  8. Restart device after update completes
Caveat Standard Apple OS update considerations - ensure backups exist before updating

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
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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-2026-28994 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