Description
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7 and iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, visionOS 27. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.
Published: 2026-09-14
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Privilege Escalation
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

A permissions enforcement flaw allows a malicious application to elevate its privileges to root on Apple mobile and desktop platforms. The weakness is classified as CWE‑862, indicating that the operating system failed to enforce access controls. If exploited, an attacker could gain complete control over the affected device, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected Systems

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS are affected. The fix is delivered in iOS 26.7 and 27, iPadOS 26.7 and 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, and visionOS 27. Devices running any earlier releases are vulnerable.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates high severity, while the EPSS score of less than 1% suggests exploitation likelihood is low but present. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. The attack vector is inferred to be local; a malicious app must be installed on the device, which then abuses the broken permissions check to obtain root. In environments where untrusted or sideloaded apps are common, the risk is amplified.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 20, 2026 at 22:17 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade each Apple device to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, or visionOS 27, which includes the permissions enforcement fix.
  • Restrict the installation of developer‑signed or side‑loaded applications on devices that cannot be managed, to reduce the opportunity for a malicious app to exploit the flaw.
  • In managed environments, enforce MDM policies that deny privileged API usage to non‑trusted applications and monitor for anomalous privilege escalation attempts.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 20, 2026 at 22:17 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 22:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Apple OSes Root Privilege Escalation via Permissions Bypass

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Title Apple OSes Root Privilege Escalation via Permissions Bypass

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apple ipados
Apple iphone Os
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:apple:ipados:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:apple:iphone_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:apple:visionos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Apple ipados
Apple iphone Os

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apple
Apple ios And Ipados
Apple macos
Apple visionos
Vendors & Products Apple
Apple ios And Ipados
Apple macos
Apple visionos

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-862
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.7 and iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, visionOS 27. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.
References

Subscriptions

Apple Ios And Ipados Ipados Iphone Os Macos Visionos
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apple

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-15T03:56:31.854Z

Reserved: 2026-05-01T22:46:21.642Z

Link: CVE-2026-43689

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-14T22:49:33.891Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-09-14T21:17:08.237

Modified: 2026-09-15T19:24:11.737

Link: CVE-2026-43689

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-20T22:30:06Z

Weaknesses