CVE-2026-116262 in libimobiledevice
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A vulnerability was detected in libimobiledevice up to 1.4.0. The affected element is the function webinspector_receive_with_timeout of the file src/webinspector.c of the component Web Inspector. The manipulation results in heap-based buffer overflow. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploit is now public and may be used. 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 vulnerability identified within libimobiledevice versions up to 1.4.0 represents a critical security flaw located specifically within the Web Inspector component, which facilitates remote debugging of iOS devices connected via USB or network interfaces. The root cause resides in the webinspector_receive_with_timeout function found in the src/webinspector.c source file. This specific routine is responsible for handling incoming data packets during communication sessions between a host machine and an iOS device. When processing these inputs, the application fails to adequately validate the length of received data against the allocated buffer size, leading directly to a heap-based buffer overflow condition. This type of memory corruption error occurs when more data is written into a fixed-length block in the heap than it can hold, causing adjacent memory structures to be overwritten with potentially malicious content crafted by an attacker.
From a technical perspective, this flaw allows for arbitrary code execution under certain conditions because the heap-based buffer overflow enables manipulation of critical control data such as function pointers or object headers stored nearby in memory. Since the Web Inspector component is designed to accept connections from remote hosts, particularly when enabled on iOS devices through developer settings, the attack surface extends beyond local physical access scenarios. An attacker with network connectivity to a vulnerable device can exploit this flaw remotely without requiring prior authentication if the service is exposed and accessible. The existence of public exploits significantly lowers the barrier for entry, allowing even less sophisticated threat actors to leverage this vulnerability against unpatched systems. This situation highlights the severe operational impact where confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the targeted iOS device are compromised as an attacker gains full control over the application process running on the host or potentially escalates privileges depending on how the overflow is utilized in conjunction with other memory corruption techniques.
In terms of industry standard classifications, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input Classic and specifically manifests as a heap-based variant which falls under CWE-122 Heap-Based Buffer Overflow. These categories emphasize the failure to perform proper bounds checking before copying data into memory buffers. Furthermore, from an offensive security framework perspective such as MITRE ATT&CK, this vulnerability facilitates initial access through remote services and enables execution via exploitation of application logic errors or memory corruption vulnerabilities. The ability to launch attacks remotely places it within techniques associated with network service exploitation where adversaries leverage trusted applications to establish a foothold on the target system.
The vendor's lack of response despite early notification underscores the importance of independent security auditing and community-driven patching in open-source projects that form critical infrastructure for mobile device management ecosystems. Organizations relying on libimobiledevice must recognize that version 1.4.0 and earlier are inherently insecure due to this unmitigated risk. Immediate mitigation strategies involve upgrading to a patched version released after the disclosure if available, or alternatively disabling the Web Inspector feature entirely on iOS devices when not actively engaged in development tasks. Network segmentation should also be employed to restrict access to debugging ports from unauthorized networks, thereby reducing the attack surface even before software updates can be applied across all endpoints.