CVE-2026-113896 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A race condition was addressed with additional validation. 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 sensitive user data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2026
The disclosed vulnerability represents a classic race condition within the operating system's core security mechanisms, specifically affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS platforms. A race condition occurs when software performs operations in an incorrect or unexpected order due to timing dependencies between concurrent processes or threads. In this specific instance, the flaw likely involved a window of opportunity where sensitive user data could be accessed before proper authorization checks were fully completed or validated by the system kernel. The issue was addressed through additional validation logic designed to enforce strict atomicity and sequence integrity during access control decisions. This ensures that privilege escalation attempts or unauthorized read operations are blocked even if they occur in rapid succession or under concurrent execution conditions that previously exploited timing gaps.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability falls squarely within the CWE-362 classification of Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization. The absence of proper synchronization primitives allowed an application to bypass intended security boundaries by exploiting the temporal gap between resource allocation and permission verification. This type of flaw is particularly dangerous because it does not require complex exploitation techniques or specific input payloads; rather, it relies on precise timing manipulation which can be automated through repeated requests or multi-threaded execution patterns. The impact allows a malicious app to access sensitive user data that should remain isolated within the secure enclave or protected file system directories. This could include personal identifiers, health records, financial information, or private communications depending on the specific subsystem targeted by the race condition.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it undermines the fundamental trust model of mobile and desktop operating systems which rely heavily on sandboxing to isolate applications from one another and from core system resources. By successfully exploiting this race condition, an attacker could exfiltrate data without triggering standard security alerts or requiring user interaction such as permission prompts. This bypasses the principle of least privilege by granting elevated access levels that were not explicitly authorized for the requesting application. The ability to read sensitive data silently compromises both confidentiality and potentially integrity if the accessed information is used to craft more sophisticated social engineering attacks or further system compromise.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying the provided software updates which contain the necessary code patches to enforce stricter validation checks during resource access operations. For enterprise environments, it is critical to ensure that all managed devices are updated 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 as soon as possible to close this window of exposure. In the interim, organizations should enforce strict app distribution policies and monitor for anomalous data access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security monitoring tools should be configured to detect rapid successive read operations on sensitive files which could signal a race condition exploit in progress.
This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter if the exploited app uses scripts to automate the timing attacks, or more directly relates to data exfiltration techniques where unauthorized access is leveraged for information gathering. The fix emphasizes the importance of robust synchronization mechanisms in system-level code development practices. Developers must ensure that all shared resources are protected by appropriate locking mechanisms such as mutexes or semaphores to prevent concurrent modification or access during critical security checks. Continuous integration pipelines should include static analysis tools capable of detecting potential race conditions and concurrency flaws before deployment to production environments, thereby reducing the attack surface for future vulnerabilities of this nature.