Technical impact
A path handling flaw occurs when file system paths are not properly validated, allowing an application to access files outside its intended scope. If an attacker succeeds, the application can acquire root privileges, giving full control over the device to modify system files or execute arbitrary code.
Affected Systems
Apple iOS and iPadOS versions earlier than 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 and earlier versions, macOS Tahoe 26.3 and earlier, visionOS 26.3 and earlier. The vulnerability exists in core path handling APIs for all driver and application contexts on these operating systems.
Risk and Exploitability
The CVSS base score of 7.8 classifies this as a high severity vulnerability. The EPSS score is less than 1%, indicating a low probability of exploitation in the near term. The flaw is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and the official advisory does not mention a known exploit. The likely attack vector is a local one: a malicious or compromised application installed on the device would need to perform the path traversal to elevate privileges. The impact of successful exploitation is complete compromise of the device, with the attacker able to read, modify, delete, or replace any file on the system.
