iOS and iPadOS: Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere
CVE-2026-43654 is a high-severity exposure of sensitive system information to an unauthorized control sphere vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS from Apple, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 18.7.9, 26.5 as the first without the flaw, so updating iOS and iPadOS to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.35% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update iOS and iPadOS to 18.7.9 or 26.5, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update macOS to 14.8.7 or 15.7.7 or 26.5, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update tvOS to 26.5 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on support.apple.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | iOS and iPadOS | before 18.7.9; before 26.5 | 18.7.9, 26.5 |
| Apple | macOS | before 14.8.7; before 15.7.7; before 26.5 | 14.8.7, 15.7.7, 26.5 |
| Apple | tvOS | before 26.5 | 26.5 |
| Apple | visionOS | before 26.5 | 26.5 |
| Apple | watchOS | before 26.5 | 26.5 |
| Apple | iPadOS | before 18.7.9; 26.0 up to, but not including, 26.5 | 18.7.9, 26.5 |
| Apple | Iphone OS | before 18.7.9; 26.0 up to, but not including, 26.5 | 18.7.9, 26.5 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- NoneNothing can be modified.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. 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 disclose kernel memory.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere
The product does not properly prevent sensitive system-level information from being accessed by unauthorized actors who do not have the same level of access to the underlying system as the product does.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Production applications should never use methods that generate internal details such as stack traces and error messages unless that information is directly committed to a log that is not viewable by the end user. All error message text should be HTML entity encoded before being written to the log file to protect against potential cross-site scripting attacks against the viewer of the logs
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- support.apple.com/en-us/127110Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127111Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127115Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127116Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127117Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127118Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127119Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/127120Release Notes
Other vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere vulnerabilities
- 8.6 High severity
- 8.6 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.9 Critical severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.