CVE-2026-112676 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
This issue was addressed with additional entitlement checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7.2 and iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, visionOS 27.2. An app may be able to access a user's Photos Library.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2026
The vulnerability described involves an insufficient entitlement check within the operating system’s photo library management subsystems across multiple Apple platforms including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. This flaw allows applications that do not possess the appropriate authorization credentials or permissions to bypass standard access controls and retrieve data from a user's private Photos Library. In modern mobile and desktop operating systems, access to sensitive personal data such as photos is governed by strict entitlement frameworks designed to isolate application sandboxes and prevent unauthorized cross-application data exfiltration. The absence of rigorous validation during the request phase enables malicious or compromised apps to circumvent these safeguards, effectively granting them read privileges that were not explicitly granted by the user through the standard permission dialogues.
From a technical perspective, this represents a classic authorization bypass where the system fails to verify whether the calling process holds the specific entitlement required for accessing protected resources. The Photos Library is considered highly sensitive personal data under most privacy regulations and security standards because it often contains biometric identifiers, location history embedded in metadata, and other personally identifiable information. When an app can access this library without proper authorization, it violates the principle of least privilege, allowing processes to operate with higher levels of trust than warranted by their declared capabilities. This type of flaw is typically categorized under CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management or CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource depending on whether the failure lies in the initial grant logic or the runtime verification step.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it compromises user privacy and data confidentiality at a fundamental level. An attacker leveraging this flaw could silently scrape images from a victim's device, potentially leading to identity theft, blackmail, corporate espionage if work-related photos are stored locally, or violation of GDPR and CCPA compliance requirements due to unauthorized processing of personal data. Unlike remote code execution vulnerabilities that might crash the system or allow arbitrary command execution, this issue is stealthy in nature because it does not necessarily trigger obvious error messages or system instability. Instead, it operates quietly in the background, making detection by standard security monitoring tools difficult without specialized behavioral analysis capabilities.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying the provided software updates which address these entitlement checks at the kernel and framework levels. For organizations managing enterprise devices, ensuring that all endpoints are patched to iOS 26.7.2, iPadOS 26.7.2, iOS 27.2, iPadOS 27.2, macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2, or visionOS 27.2 is critical to closing this attack vector. Additionally, users should adhere to strict app installation policies and regularly review application permissions within the system settings interface. Security teams should also implement mobile device management solutions that enforce minimum security baselines and monitor for anomalous access patterns to sensitive media libraries. From a development standpoint, applications must be audited to ensure they only request necessary entitlements and handle permission denials gracefully without attempting workarounds or fallback mechanisms that might exploit such gaps in system validation logic. This incident underscores the importance of continuous verification of security boundaries even after initial authorization has been granted during the app installation phase.