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Medium

Kernel sensitive state disclosure in Apple operating systems

IdentifiersCVE-2026-28867CWE-306

CVE-2026-28867 is a kernel information disclosure vulnerability in Apple platforms. Apple describes it as an authentication issue in the Kernel that may allow an app to leak sensitive kernel state. The issue was fixed with improved authentication and affects multiple Apple operating systems prior to iOS 18.7.7, iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4, and watchOS 26.4. Public reporting also groups this flaw with CVE-2026-28868 as one of two separate kernel disclosure issues leaking sensitive kernel state and kernel memory. Specific vulnerable functions or code paths are not provided in the supplied content.

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For your environment

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a local app to obtain sensitive kernel state information. Disclosure of kernel state can weaken kernel exploit mitigations, aid vulnerability research and exploit reliability, and serve as a primitive in multi-stage exploit chains by exposing information about privileged execution context or kernel internals.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patching is completed, reduce exposure to untrusted local code by limiting installation and execution of third-party apps, especially on high-risk devices. For threat scenarios involving broader exploit chains such as web-delivered attacks, Apple indicates Lockdown Mode helps protect high-risk users, though this is not a direct fix for the kernel flaw itself. Full mitigation information beyond patching is not available in the provided content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the vendor fixes by upgrading to iOS 18.7.7 or iPadOS 18.7.7 on supported legacy devices, or to iOS 26.4 / iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4, or watchOS 26.4, as applicable. Apple states the issue was addressed through improved authentication.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
AppleIosoperating_system
AppleIpadosoperating_system
AppleIphone Osoperating_system
AppleMacosoperating_system
AppleTvosoperating_system
AppleVisionosoperating_system
AppleWatchosoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware1

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity7

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.