Severity by source
AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Physical attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, only partial confidentiality impact on contacts and photos.
Primary rating from Vendor (apple).
CVSS VectorVendor: apple
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
This issue was addressed with additional restrictions on the lock screen. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Tahoe 26.6. A person with physical access to a locked device may be able to access contacts and photos.
AnalysisAI
Authentication bypass via lock screen in macOS allows a person with physical access to view contacts and photos on a locked device. The issue affects macOS prior to Sequoia 15.7.8 and Tahoe 26.6. No active exploitation or public exploit code is reported, but the vulnerability bypasses a fundamental security boundary.
Technical ContextAI
The macOS lock screen is intended to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive user data when a device is in a locked state. CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) indicates a logic flaw that allowed bypasses of this authentication mechanism, granting access to contacts and photos without proper credentials. The vulnerability resides in the macOS user interface and authentication subsystem, as indicated by the CPE for Apple macOS.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.7.8 or macOS Tahoe 26.6 (or later) as specified in Apple's security advisories https://support.apple.com/en-us/128067 and https://support.apple.com/en-us/128071. No technical workaround is provided; the fix introduces additional lock screen restrictions. If patching is delayed, enforce strict physical access controls, but this relies on operational diligence and does not eliminate the underlying risk.
Same weakness CWE-287 – Improper Authentication
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-49496
GHSA-9jmj-p624-q22c