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.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-14T21:17:08.237Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-14T21:17:08.237Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical permissions-related vulnerability exists within multiple Apple operating systems, specifically affecting iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, and visionOS 27.\nThe vulnerability allows a malicious application to bypass existing security controls and achieve unauthorized root-level privileges on the host system.\nBy gaining root access, an attacker effectively circumvents the sandboxing mechanisms designed to isolate applications, granting them unrestricted control over system resources, user data, and OS-level operations.\nThe risk is categorized as high due to the potential for complete device compromise, unauthorized data exfiltration, and the installation of persistent malicious code.\nExploitation requires a malicious application to be present on the target device; however, the vulnerability does not explicitly require user interaction beyond the initial execution of the malicious code.\nSystem hardening is provided through the application of official security updates, which introduce additional restrictions to the affected permissions model.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from an improper implementation of permissions validation within the operating system's security architecture. This flaw allows a low-privileged application to circumvent authorization checks intended to restrict access to system-level operations.\nAt the core of the issue is a failure in the kernel-level permission enforcement mechanism. When a malicious application submits a specific, crafted request to a system component or service, the kernel fails to adequately verify the requester's identity or authorization context. Consequently, the operating system honors the request as if it originated from a highly privileged process.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, an attacker deploys a malicious application onto the target environment. Upon execution, the application exploits the deficient permission check by targeting a specific vulnerable system interface. Through the manipulation of inter-process communication (IPC) or kernel system calls, the application triggers a logic error in the permissions handling module. By bypassing these checks, the process elevates its own security context to that of the root user.\nOnce root privileges are obtained, the attacker can bypass sandboxing restrictions, enabling access to protected filesystems, keystores, and system-level data. The malicious payload can subsequently execute arbitrary commands with unrestricted privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized data exfiltration, the interception of sensitive communications, or the modification of critical system binaries to maintain persistent access. Because the privilege escalation occurs at the OS level, traditional application-layer restrictions become ineffective.\nThe affected product versions include iOS 26.7, iPadOS 26.7, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate 27, and visionOS 27. The flaw represents a breakdown in the principle of least privilege, where the OS fails to properly segregate high-impact system calls from user-space requests.\nMitigation involves the implementation of stricter permission validation logic and enhanced bounds checking within the affected kernel modules, ensuring that all system calls are vetted against the caller's verified entitlements prior to execution."
}