CVE-2026-116260 in libimobiledevice
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A weakness has been identified in libimobiledevice up to 1.4.0. This issue affects the function service_receive of the file src/afc.c of the component AFC Service. Executing a manipulation can lead to double free. The attack may be performed from remote. The exploit has been made available to the public and could be used for attacks. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2026
The libimobiledevice library, widely utilized by developers and system administrators to facilitate communication between iOS devices and computers via USB or network interfaces, contains a critical memory management vulnerability within its AFC (Apple File Conduit) service implementation. Specifically, the flaw resides in the service_receive function located in the src/afc.c source file of versions up to 1.4.0. This component is responsible for handling data transfers between the host machine and the iOS device's filesystem. The identified weakness allows an attacker who can interact with this service to trigger a double free condition, which represents a severe integrity violation within the application's memory management subsystem.
A double free vulnerability occurs when a program frees the same block of memory twice without proper reinitialization or nullification of pointers between deallocations. In the context of libimobiledevice, this flaw arises from improper handling of allocated buffers during the reception and processing of AFC service messages. When an attacker sends specially crafted data packets that manipulate the internal state of the AFC handler, they can cause the application to attempt releasing a memory block that has already been freed or is in an inconsistent state. This condition corrupts the heap metadata structures used by the underlying allocator, such as ptmalloc on Linux systems, leading to unpredictable behavior within the process execution flow.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption. Because double free conditions can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution, they pose a significant threat to system security. An attacker with network access or physical USB connectivity could leverage this flaw to execute malicious payloads on the host machine running libimobiledevice. This capability effectively bypasses standard sandboxing mechanisms if the application runs with elevated privileges or interacts directly with sensitive file systems. The availability of public exploits further amplifies the risk, as it lowers the barrier for entry for less sophisticated threat actors who may not possess deep reverse engineering skills but can utilize existing proof-of-concept code to compromise target systems.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-415, which defines double free errors in memory management routines. It also relates to CWE-787, as the corruption of heap structures often leads out-of-bounds writes that can be leveraged for control flow hijacking. In terms of offensive security frameworks, such an exploit maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation for client execution, particularly when targeting applications like libimobiledevice that are commonly used in development and debugging environments. The remote nature of the attack vector indicates potential applicability within networked scenarios where devices communicate over TCP/IP rather than strictly via USB, expanding the attack surface significantly.
The vendor's lack of response to early disclosure attempts highlights a critical gap in security maintenance for this widely adopted open-source project. Without an official patch or update from the maintainers, users are left with limited options to mitigate the risk within the software itself. Consequently, mitigation strategies must focus on environmental controls and operational safeguards rather than direct code remediation. Organizations relying on libimobiledevice should consider restricting network access to ports associated with AFC services if remote connectivity is not strictly required. Additionally, running these processes in isolated environments or containers can limit the blast radius of a potential compromise by preventing heap corruption from affecting critical system components.
Administrators and developers are advised to upgrade to newer versions of libimobiledevice where this issue has reportedly been addressed, as version 1.4.0 is no longer considered secure for production use in untrusted environments. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implementing strict input validation at the network perimeter or using application whitelisting can help prevent the execution of malicious payloads derived from exploiting this vulnerability. Continuous monitoring of system logs for anomalous memory allocation patterns may also provide early detection indicators for attempted exploitation activities targeting this specific component.